Golden Apple Crisp- An Ayurvedic Take on a Sweet Fall Favorite

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, store-bought pies, cakes and pastries that are chock-full of refined, processed sugars might appear in your workplace’s kitchen, at friendly gatherings and on the Thanksgiving dessert table. Although we have no qualms about indulging in a sugary sweet or two, we always like to offer ourselves and our loved ones an opportunity to experience an Ayurvedic take on dessert. What makes an Ayurvedic dessert unique is that its sweetness comes from all-natural ingredients like fruit, oats and natural sweeteners like maple syrup, molasses or jaggery. Also, an Ayurvedic dessert considers how it affects the balance of the doshas. 

Today, we are sharing with you our Ayurvedic version of a Golden Apple Crisp. One of the many reasons why we love this recipe is because it utilizes our Golden Milk powder to enhance the flavor and medicinal value of this delicious dish. When considering this dessert’s effects on the doshas, it pacifies vata dosha thanks to the juicy baked apples, ojas building almonds, grounding oats, lubricating ghee (or coconut oil, if vegan) and warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ashwagandha and ginger. It also pacifies pitta dosha with its inclusion of cooling maple syrup, juicy apples and raisins, soothing shatavari and detoxifying lemon, turmeric and black pepper. Due to the sweet and heavy nature of this Golden Apple Crisp, we recommend people that are focusing on pacifying kapha dosha to enjoy this dessert sparingly. 

Unsure of your current balance of the doshas? Take our Dosha Quiz or Book a Virtual Consultation with our Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist.

You may notice that this recipe calls for unpeeled apples. This is because we want to take advantage of the beneficial vitamins and minerals contained within the apple’s peel. In fact, according to Healthline, apple skin contains up to 332% more vitamin K, 142% more vitamin A, 115% more vitamin C, 20% more calcium and up to 19% more potassium than a peeled apple. Hence, we do not want you to miss out on this goldmine of nutrients, so we recommend leaving the skins on. Plus, skipping the task of peeling all of the apples makes one less thing to worry about as you prepare the crisp. While on the topic of apples, did you know that different kinds of apples have different effects on the doshas? For instance, if you would like to pacify vata and/or pitta dosha, when making this recipe, we recommend opting for sweet and juicy apples like Fuji, Gala, Ambrosia or Honeycrisp. If you are more focused on pacifying kapha dosha, tart and/or sour apples will work best such as Granny Smith, Braeburn and/or McIntosh. 

Now, time for the recipe…

7      apples, unpeeled & chopped 

½     cup raisins 

2      lemons’ juice 

1.     teaspoon vanilla 

1      teaspoon cinnamon  

⅛-¼ teaspoon nutmeg 

2      tablespoons maple syrup

¾    cup GF flour

1 ½ cup GF rolled oats 

1     cup chopped almonds

1-2  teaspoons Golden Milk powder

4     tablespoons Maple syrup 

⅓    cup Ahara Rasa Ghee or coconut oil, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2. In a large bowl, mix all the filling ingredients together. Transfer to a 9x11-inch casserole dish. 

3. Combine all topping ingredients in the same large bowl that you used for mixing the filling ingredients. 

4. Spread the topping ingredients onto the apples. The topping will not cover the apples completely- this will give space for the apples to bubble as they bake. 

5. Bake for 40-50 minutes. (The Golden Apple Crisp is ready when the apples are soft and bubbling up). 

6. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving. You may choose to sprinkle with Golden Milk powder before serving.