This is one of the desserts I am making for Thanksgiving this year. I love the warmth of the spices in apple desserts. It’s no surprise how popular apple pie scented candles are, and an apple tart baking in the oven makes the whole house smell amazing! I make a homemade non-toxic air freshener on my stove top with apples, oranges, cloves and a cinnamon stick. Here’s how if you want to do this……smells wonderful!

I use coconut butter, maple sugar and cinnamon in the crust, which is similar to a sugar cookie crust. The apples are sweetened with maple sugar and apple butter. Because there is no top crust on this tart, I found tenting the pie while baking holds in the moisture and makes the apples retain their juiciness.

Grain Free Apple Tart

Preheat your oven to 350° F and line an 8″ tart pan with parchment. I used a ceramic one, a pie pan will work as well. I have also made this recipe in a square metal baking pan.

Crust:

1/2 Cup of Coconut Flour

1/2 Cup of Coconut Butter

1 Egg

1/3 Cup of Maple Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon of Sea Salt

In a food processor, process the crust ingredients until it is crumbly and blended well. Pour the crumbly mixture into the prepared pan, and press firmly and evenly with your fingers to form the crust. Bake in your preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Apple Filling

I used Cortland apples in this recipe. You can use any tart apple or combination of apples that are good for pies including McIntosh or Granny Smith.

Ingredients:

6 Cups of Tart Apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/2″

1/4 Cup of Apple Butter, I use this clean brand, just apples and juice

1/4 Cup of Maple Sugar plus 1 Tablespoon for the top

2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil or Coconut Oil, melted

1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon of Allspice

1/4 Teaspoon of Cardamom

1/4 Teaspoon of Ginger

1/8 Teaspoon of Nutmeg or Mace

1/8 Teaspoon of Sea Salt

Toss the apples with the lemon juice. Then, add in the maple sugar, spices and salt, and toss to coat evenly. Finally add the apple butter and olive oil or melted coconut oil and toss. Spread the apples evenly on top of the crust. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and seal the edges. Bake in your preheated oven for 60 minutes. Remove from the oven, and pierce an apple slice with a fork to make sure it is tender. Then, sprinkle the apples with the remaining one tablespoon of maple sugar, and bake uncovered an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.

This tart is great as is, but I do believe I will be adding my recipe for coconut whipped cream to embellish the top on turkey day! The recipe is here for that.