Digest the Feed
Gluten Free Banana Coconut Crumble, January 5, 2014
Rarely do I try to create a gluten free recipe from scratch. I normally find one that sounds sensible, try it their way the first time, and then tweak it to be something more to my tastes the next. After a few rounds of adjustments, I land on a version I enjoy that goes into rotation in my house. In the spirit of the new year, I decided to try and create something and share what happened…whether it was a complete disaster or not.
Hmmm…where to start? I spy 2 extremely ripe bananas on the kitchen counter and decide to work around them. Otherwise, they are likely to sit there until I slice them up to freeze for a future smoothie or they rot. I step out of the kitchen and let my mind roll a little on the couch. It is a little chilly in here, snowy outside, and an arctic blast is set to roll in tonight, bringing with it negative temperatures. All I can think about is my parents going to Hawaii in less than a month and my mother’s love for baked bananas with macadamia nuts and yogurt that she practically lives on while vacationing there.
Banana Coconut Macadamia Nut Filling
Between the two, baked bananas and Hawaii, I make my way back to my pantry to see what else is in there. I’m looking for the possible ingredients for a tropical comfort food of sorts? Why can’t I make a kind of crumble or cobbler? Not really typical with bananas but I’ve made them frequently with berries. I start pulling out sugar, gluten free flour and oats. Easy enough. But the filling…a partial bag of macadamia nuts?! Score! They land on the counter, along with some leftover shredded coconut from the holidays, cinnamon (because who doesn’t like cinnamon with bananas?) but I’m still missing something. This is going to be entirely too dry if I don’t add something. Applesauce! Ummm, where is my applesauce? There is always applesauce in here! For some reason, in my head, despite it not being a tropical fruit, I deemed it necessary so I went to the grocery store to get it. My thoughts translated into this.
Banana Coconut Crumble
Filling
2 bananas thick sliced
1/3 cup macadamia nuts coarsely chopped
1/3 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
Topping
1/4 cup gluten free steel cut oats (switch to gf quick oats)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup gluten free all purpose baking flour
1 ½ tablespoons butter
It’s Bubbling!
I mixed all the ingredients in two separate bowls with my hands. I put the filling into a 7″ x 5″ stoneware baking dish, put the crumble on it and tossed it in a 325° oven for 35 minutes.
Final verdict? Simple and sweet..and even better with vanilla ice cream on top! I have made a few notes though. One, the texture of the steel cut oats was noticeable and I’d switch them to gluten free quick oats next time. Two, the coconut might actually be better in the topping rather than in the filling? Three, brown sugar and/or rum could have easily been in this if you prefer. And finally, four, nut lovers could easily add them into the crumble as well. Do what I do, start here and tweak away.
