The first apples down in Henderson Co. are already coming in. My little guy and I met friends at Grandad's Apples in Edneyville over the weekend for apple fritters, apple oatmeal cookies, fresh apples (I got the Zestar variety; tart, crisp and good for baking) and some quality time with the resident goat and llama.

I love baking with apples, but I wanted to change it up a little bit (i.e., no standard pie, or traditional cinnamon to be found). I cooked down the apples slightly with a little lemon juice then added a "crumble" topping of almond macaroon cookie dough. The pairing was pretty magical. The only way it could have been better was with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream. Alas, we were out, but we muddled through!

Almond Apple Crisp

Gluten and dairy free, serves 6

Ingredients

2 lbs apples (peeled, cored and 1/2 inch dice)
juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
8 ounces of almond paste (not marizpan)
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla paste (sub vanilla extract if needed)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium saucepan add apples, lemon juice and brown sugar and cook until apples just begin to soften and break down, approximately 8 minutes. Spread the cooked apples in baking dish and set aside. In a medium bowl, add almond paste and sugar and mix thoroughly (I use my hands). Add the lightly beaten egg white, vanilla paste and sea salt until combined, then mix in the toasted slivered almonds.

Crumble the almond cookie topping evenly over the apples and bake until golden brown, about 18 minutes. Serve hot or warm.