Grain-Free Cranberry Apple Tart Recipe - great for Friendsgiving!

Grain-Free Cranberry Apple Tart Recipe - great for Friendsgiving!

• 11.16.2015

This recipe received some of the best reviews from my food critic (dear husband) than anything in my recent memory. He loves cranberries, so that's a big part of it, but I agree that this (pretty experimental) grain-free crust and cinnamon-ey apple creation turned out fabulous.

Excited to share it with you! Keep it in mind for holiday parties this season - or if you're tired of all the classic desserts at Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving!

You'll notice that these ingredients are very similar to those in my grain-free apple/pear crumble recipe... it's kind of that recipe minus the sauce and flipped upside-down! Which does help with the elegant presentation.

I used local, organic apples we picked late this fall (we literally have a drawer in our fridge right now that is only apples) and I chose thin-skinned ones, kind of Golden Delicious-ey but a little greener, and the skins didn't get in the way of the slicing.

Grain-Free Cranberry Apple Tart

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1/4 c. sunflower seeds
• 1/4 c. walnuts (or try any nut - pecans? cashews?)
• 1/4 c. unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 c. almond flour
• 1/4 c. coconut palm sugar or sweetener of choice
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 5 tbsp. butter (cold)

Fruit:

• 2 apples with thin skin (I think mine were a Golden Delicious-type) (or any apples, peeled - but I'm not a big fan of peeling apples!)
• 1/2-1 c. fresh cranberries (I used 1/2 c. but husband said he wished there were way more!)
• 1/4 c. coconut palm sugar or sweetener of choice
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions:

For the crust:

1. Pulse sunflower seeds in a small food processor, until finely ground. Add walnuts or other nut; pulse until finely ground. Add other dry ingredients and pulse until combined.
2. Chop butter into small chunks and add to processor; pulse until combined. Mixture should be thick and chunky. 
3. Spread crust mixture into baking dish or springform pan. (I used one like this with a circle of parchment paper cut to size on the inside). Flatten with spatula or fingers to get an even layer.

For the fruit:

1. (Peel apples if desired, but again - no way did I have time for that so I used delicate-skin apples.) Thinly slice the apples. 
2. Arrange apple slices in the pan on top of the crust, starting at the outside edge and working in.
3. Combine the remaining sweetener of choice and cinnamon in a small dish and sprinkle over the apple slices. (You may not need all of the mixture.)
4. Slice cranberries in half and distribute over the apples.

If using a springform pan, put on a baking sheet to prevent melted sugary butter from dripping onto the oven bottom. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and apples are soft. 

This was SUCH a treat when I made it the other weekend and would be great at a dinner party! It's so sweet it hardly needs ice cream or whipped cream on top so we ate it plain. The sugary cinnamon mixture adds a great extra touch to the apples and cranberries! The crust is sweeter than we're used to most of the time which is part of why husband wanted more cranberries!

This post was brought to you by the Cranberry Marketing Committee, USA who has partnered with Elsie and Emma of A Beautiful Mess to help you plan a great Friendsgiving (with cranberries)! See their The Ultimate Friendsgiving Guide here. For more inspiration on how to feature cranberries at your Friendsgiving, follow @uscranberries on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, 'Cranberry Cravers' on Facebook.

And, if you make something with cranberries, enter a photo of it at CranberryFriendsgiving.com for a chance to win a $2,000 dinner party!! Let me know what you're making!!!!

• As America's Original Superfruit®, U.S.-grown cranberries are a star at any Friendsgiving feast. In sweet or savory recipes, crafty cocktails or fashioned into elegant décor, cranberries are THE fruit for this holiday celebration.
• Get creative with cranberries this holiday for a chance to win a $2,000 dinner party in the Cranberry Friendsgiving Photo Contest. Enter at CranberryFriendsgiving.com and check out The Ultimate Friendsgiving Guide, which provides a complete party planning checklist, as well as inspirational cranberry ideas – from décor to dessert
• Don’t forget to tag your cranberry creations on social media with #FriendsgivingCranberryContest and enter them at CranberryFriendsgiving.com