Apple Oat Bars

Clearly I’m not quite done with apples. That’s right: You’ve got another apple recipe coming your way, but I promise it’s a good one.

My latest creation combines rich, hearty oats with fresh, hand-picked apples. And while I tend to incorporate a variety of fall spices whenever I bake with apples, for this recipe, I exercised some restraint and limited myself to cinnamon only. The result? An easy-to-make, easy-to-eat snack cake that’s perfect for breakfast, dessert, or anytime in between.

Apple Oat Bars

Ingredients:

For the crust and topping:

1 cup AP flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick of butter, melted and cooled to room temp

For the apple filling:

1 cup of apples, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Grease an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.
To make the filling, combine the apples, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir to combine and let sit while you make the crust and topping.
To make the crust and topping, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, oats, and salt. Stir in the butter and mix well to combine.
Press half of the mixture into your prepared pan. Spread the apple mixture on top of the crust, using the back of a spoon to distribute it evenly throughout the pan. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the apple layer, once again using the back of a spoon to spread it out evenly.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top starts to brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool completely in the pan for two hours before slicing and serving.

Oct 4

Apple Pumpkin Cake

For me, September is the time to indulge in everything apple. But come October, I tend to be all about the pumpkin. This year, I decided to make the transition from apple- to pumpkin-centric baking just a bit smoother by using both in a single cake.

This recipe is incredibly easy to whip up, and it produces a cake that’s soft, moist, and full of my favorite fall flavors. You can use canned pumpkin without a problem, but because I happened to go pumpkin picking recently, I chose to cook and puree some fresh pumpkin for my batter.

I’m really excited to start experimenting with some new pumpkin recipes, both sweet and savory. But for now, I’ll most likely be focused on eating this cake for the better part of the week until it’s gone.

Apple Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients:

1 and 1/4 cups AP flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup apples, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup pumpkin (fresh or canned)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8×8 baking pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices.
Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Add the oil, apples, and pumpkins, and stir together until well-combined.
Pour the apple-pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture, stirring until thoroughly combined.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. The cake should be soft and springy, so try not to overbake.
Let the cake cool completely in the pan before cutting into it.

Notes:
Looking to feed a larger crowd? Just double the recipe and use a 9×13 pan instead.
If you choose to use canned pumpkin for this recipe, make sure to buy regular, unsweetened pumpkin, as opposed to pumpkin pie filling.

Oct 3

Apple Walnut Date Bread

So here we go again…my love affair with apples continues. In fact, I actually went apple picking yet again this past weekend and gathered up a bunch of awesome varieties to add to my collection.

It’s a good thing there are so many great ways to incorporate apples into baking. This time, I decided to whip up some apple walnut date bread. This recipe is actually based on the one I used for the pear bread I recently made (in other words, it’s super easy).

What I like about this bread is that it’s just sweet enough to border on cake, but not too sweet. You can have it for breakfast or serve it as a side dish for dinner, and you won’t go wrong either way. Personally, I could eat this stuff any time of day, but I especially like it alongside a nice cup of coffee.

Apple Walnut Date Bread
Recipe adapted from Bake or Break

Ingredients:

3 cups AP flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups peeled and diced apples
1 cup chopped dates
2 teaspoons vanilla

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a two 9×5 loaf pans.
Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, sugar, apples, dates, walnuts, and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture until well-incorporated.
Pour the batter into your prepared pans and bake for 60-65 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Cool completely before cutting and serving.