This is another variation of my classic apple almond cobbler or peach almond cobbler. The fresh strawberries give out their natural sweet juices while baking with the apples and, combined with the ground hazelnut flour, make this cobbler absolutely sublime! I personally am going to be making this variation for our Thanksgiving feast!
Strawberry Apple Hazelnut Cobbler
Author: Catherine Katz
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
- FILLING
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and halved
- 2 medium apples, peeled, cored, diced
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp hazelnut extract
- 1 Tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
- COBBLER TOPPING
- ½ cup ground hazelnut flour*
- ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp (+ 1 tsp) regular smart balance, room temperature
- 1 Tbsp lowfat kefir or buttermilk
- *(you can also grind whole dry roasted unsalted hazelnuts instead).
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375
- Spread 1 tsp smart balance on a 9 inch pie dish.
- Combine all the FILLING ingredients in a bowl and place in pie dish.
- Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Add smart balance and kefir or buttermilk to the dry mixture and work with your fingers to make into a crumbly mixture
- Sprinkle evenly over filling
- Bake in oven for 15-18 minutes, until the top is golden and the juices are sizzling.
This recipe sounds delicious, would love to make for Thanksgiving, but I do have a few questions. With all the discussions about sugar and gluten these days, why do you use real sugar and whole wheat flour? Can you substitute butter and almond/coconut flours instead. Also Smart balance has canola oil, which is not natural as one of their ingredients, can you use avocado/coconut oil?
Thank you so very much for your time.
Alice Norris
Thank you Alice, you are correct about all the “discussions”. Most of the chatter is wrong and I recommend you get my husbands’s new book: “the truth about food: why pandas eat bamboo and people get bamboozled” which is a great resource for your types of questions, getting past the hype in the media.
Meanwhile, you can also look at my own posts on the subject:
http://cuisinicity.com/verdict-canola-oil/
http://cuisinicity.com/wholesomeness-grains/
http://cuisinicity.com/saturated-fats-whats-the-real-story/
http://cuisinicity.com/put-sugar-in-its-place-2/
http://cuisinicity.com/how-to-reduce-fat-actually-improve-its-quality/
Finally, you will find that most cobblers typically use close to 1 cup of added sugar, whereas mine minimizes it to a total of 4 Tbsp. Smart balance or any such similar product is made up of healthy oils, non saturated, and non hydrogenated and I like its consistency for this crust. Gluten, unless you are sensitive or allergic to it is no more toxic than peanuts unless you are allergic to them.
Smart Balance is made GMO palm and canola oil, and the olive oil is a cheap version cut with vegetable oils, plus synthetic vitamins added (A and D), artificial color and preservatives. I’ll add that canola oil is from rapeseed and is very high in omega 6. Hardly a healthy food. I’ll stick with grass fed butter any day.
Hi Alba,
I have written about canola oil before here: http://cuisinicity.com/verdict-canola-oil/ But I am noticing that you have left a few comments with the same type of feedback and I think Cuisinicity is just not for you. That’s ok! I give it all for free and out of love and paying it forward for all the pleasure and good health my cooking has given me and my beautiful family.
Hi, this sound really good. I like to try to make it, however What is smart Balance?
Hi Barb, I just realized I haven’t answered you yet, I am so sorry!
Smart balance is a “buttery” spread made with healthy oils (no hydrogenated oils nor saturated fat) http://www.smartbalance.com/products/buttery-spread/smart-balance-original