Apple Pear Crisp (Gluten Free)

My brother got married in August of 2010 (yea) and his beautiful new bride Brittany has celiac disease. I had limited knowledge of celiac disease before meeting Brit but now I feel like I understand it a little bit better. Basically eating gluten can damage her small intestine and interfere with her absorption of nutrients.  Gluten is a kind of protein found in most grains, cereals, and breads. Most of what I make contains gluten so I have had to learn to think about food and how I cook in a whole new way.
  We celebrated Brittany's birthday tonight by taking her out to a restaurant we all really enjoy, Charcuterie. After a wonderful dinner we went back to her and Michael's place and had an Apple Pear Crisp which I had made earlier in the day. This was my first attempt at making a gluten free dessert and I was a little nervous about the results.

Apple Pear Crisp

For the filling:
4 Gala apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch slices
4 Braeburn aples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 De anjou pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch slices
8 tablespoons apple cider (or apple juice, pear cider, water, use what you have on hand)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoons allspice
Pinch of salt

For the topping:
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups gluten-free baking/pancake mix (I used gluten-free Bisquick)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6-8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, toss the apple and pears with the apple cider, honey, allspice and a pinch of salt.
In another large bowl whisk together the brown sugar, gluten-free flour mix, and cinnamon. Add the butter and mix with your fingers until combined.
Sprinkle 1 cup of the topping into the bottom of the greased dish. Pour the apple/pear mixture into the baking dish. Top with the remainder of the topping mixture.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the fruit is soft and the filling has thickened. The top should be golden brown.

Serves 8

Sliced apples & pears with allspice on top.

Topping ingredients.

Apple Pear Crisp ready to bake.

We ended up liking this dessert a lot. I think next time I will try adding some gluten-free oatmeal to the topping just to give it a bit more texture. I am sure I will be trying out more gluten free recipes in the months to come and am excited to share them with all of you.

Till tomorrow...