Mother Nature’s Apple Crumble with Sprouted Oats

Four varieties of apples, cinnamon, and a maple-sweetened oat topping make a comforting fall crumble. We leave the apple skins on and use sprouted oats and turbinado sugar in our adaptation of Angela Liddon’s Mother Nature’s Apple Crumble from The Oh She Glows Cookbook.

The photos show the apples from chopping through the finished dish. Keeping the skins adds color and texture; chop the fruit into small, evenly sized pieces so it cooks evenly.

Recipe

Makes 8 small servings. Prep: about 25–30 minutes. Bake: 45–60 minutes. Oven: 375°F (190°C). Equipment: mixing bowl and approximately 2.5-liter baking dish.

Apple filling

• 6–7 heaping cups chopped apples, using four varieties (about 6–7 apples, depending on size), cored, skins left on
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder or cornstarch
• 1/3 cup turbinado sugar
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Oat topping

• 1 cup sprouted rolled oats
• 1 cup thinly sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup almond flour or almond meal
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted, plus a little for greasing
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• Optional: 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

Method

1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil the baking dish.
2. Wash, core, and chop the apples into small, similar-sized pieces. Measure 6–7 heaping cups into a bowl.
3. Toss the apples with the starch, turbinado sugar, chia seeds, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and lemon juice. Spread the filling in the dish.
4. Combine the sprouted oats, almonds, almond flour, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, remaining teaspoon of cinnamon, and salt. Add the optional coconut if desired. Stir until the oats and nuts are evenly coated.
5. Distribute the topping over the fruit. Cover with foil and make a few small vents.
6. Bake covered for 35–45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10–15 minutes, until the fruit is tender and the topping is golden. Start checking at the earlier time and use tenderness rather than the clock alone.
7. Let the crumble settle briefly before spooning into bowls. Serve warm on its own or with your preferred ice cream.

Notes and substitutions

The sprouted oats should be rolled oats rather than steel-cut oats. If you need gluten-free ingredients, select oats certified gluten-free and check every package; sprouting alone does not establish gluten-free status. This recipe contains almonds. Turbinado sugar is added sugar, so we do not describe this adaptation as refined sugar-free or sugar-free.

Our version keeps the skins on and changes the original oats and sugar. The remaining measurements follow the photographed cookbook recipe. Optional coconut is a reader option, not a claim about the photographed batch.

Adapted from “Mother Nature’s Apple Crumble” in The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon. Instructions rewritten for Our Birch Island; original family photography.