I went to a family gathering this weekend, and there was no way I was going without a dessert. It took a few minutes' brainstorming, but I knew what I wanted to make: apple oat bars. Maybe it was being around family or maybe it was just a flashback, but when I first bit into one, I was reminded of the muffins with an apple oat topping my aunt used to get for us when we'd come visit. I loved them. I was 12 or so and didn't care much about food, but I couldn't stop raving about them. Then they changed. I knew they came from Costco, but when I finally convinced my parents to pick some up, they had changed somehow. I had almost forgotten about them, until yesterday when I sunk my teeth into these bars. Oh man were they delicious. I'm glad I snagged a piece and hid it away so I could take some pictures when I got back. I used an irregular sized baking dish for these, something like
this
. You can probably use a 9 by 13, but the bars will be a bit thick.
Ingredients:
- 10 oz quick oats
- 15 oz flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 lb brown sugar
- 12 oz butter, melted
- 2 lb granny smith apples, sliced thinly
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3.5 oz sugar
- 2 oz butter
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, and melted butter into a dough.
- Press half of the dough into a baking dish lined with foil.
- Toss together the apples, cinnamon, and sugar in a large bowl.
- Spread the apples on top of the dough and place little chunks of butter on top of the apples.
- Top with the rest of the dough and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
- Let cool, refrigerate for 1-2 hours, and turn out and cut.
Enjoy on their own or topped with a scoop of ice cream and caramel sauce.
