Thanksgiving Sides Series: Healthy and Delicious Apple Tart Recipe. Seriously!

November 19, 2012

Vegan and gluten-free taste delicious in this Thanksgiving apple tart recipe. (Image courtesy of Joanna McCracken)

We conclude our Thanksgiving Sides Series on a seriously sweet note:

Making a healthier Thanksgiving dinner can be challenging, especially when it comes to dessert. Even if you’re excited about what you’re serving, it can be hard to ignore guests’ groans when they hear words like “gluten-free” or “vegan.” However, this apple tart will quickly turn their frowns upside down. Not only is it gluten-free, vegan and cane sugar-free, but it’s seriously delicious.

The delicate, crisp and tasty crust is made by combining nuts, dates, coconut, vanilla and sea salt. It should also be noted that this crust takes a matter of minutes to put together and doesn’t require rolling out dough.

The warm, melt-in-your-mouth apple pie filling takes a healthful twist with coconut palm sugar used in place of cane sugar. Coconut palm sugar is a low glycemic, unrefined, mineral-rich sweetener that is also high in B vitamins. In addition to tasting very similar to cane sugar, coconut palm sugar can be substituted for cane sugar in a 1:1 ratio in any recipe.

Image courtesy of Joanna McCracken.

Seriously Delicious Apple Tart

SERVES

PREP TIME

25 min

COOK TIME

15 min

Ingredients

CRUST:

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup raw pecans

⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

4 dates

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon sea salt

FILLING:

3 pounds organic green apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced

1 cup coconut palm sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground clove

pinch sea salt

Directions

CRUST: Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine all ingredients in food processor; pulse until mixture is moist, mealy and still slightly coarse. Press mixture into bottom and sides of 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

FILLING: Preheat oven to 350°F.

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Line baking sheet with foil; spread apple mixture over the foil. Bake until apples are soft, about 25 to 30 minutes.

COMBINE: Pour filling into crust. Slice carefully (crust is delicate) and serve.