While they’ve become available year-around, few things say “Fall” to me like apples. When Kaleb Wyse posted this recipe on Instagram, all it took was hearing “apple”, and I was hooked. Taking less than 30 minutes to prepare, and with an hour to cook, all the while filling your home with the warm aroma of apple pie, it’s really a no-brainer.
Let’s get right to it.
INGREDIENTS
For the granola crust:
2-3/4 cups rolled oats
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt
16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
For the apple pie filling:
4 apples (such as Braeburn, Honeycrisp, or Pink Lady)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 10×14 baking pan and set it aside.
For the crust:
In a large bowl, mix together the rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, white granulated sugar, cinnamon, and kosher salt.
Add the cubes of cold butter and toss with the dry ingredients. Work the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles wet sand with some pea-sized pieces of butter. Reserve 2 cups of the prepared crust and set it aside.
Press the remaining crust into a 10×14 pan (also called a jelly roll-size pan). (see NOTES) Firmly and evenly press the crust into the pan, making sure to press the crust mixture up the sides of the pan. Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Once baked, remove it from the oven and set aside to cool.
For the filling:
Prepare the filling by coring and thinly slicing the apples. In a large bowl, combine the prepared apples, flour, white granulated sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and allspice. Stir until well combined, then pour the mixture onto the baked crust.
Spread the apples out into an even layer, overlapping as needed to fit all the apples. Sprinkle on the reserved 2 cups of prepared crust topping. Bake in the 350°F preheated oven until the apples are tender, 35-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool one hour before enjoying them!
Enjoy, and no-one will blame you if you put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!
NOTES
The recipe calls for a 10″ x 14″ jelly roll pan. I have an army of quarter sheet pans, but rather than chance over-filling the pan, I opted to use two square pans, one 9″ and one 8″. To compensate for the depth of the cake pans, and their making removal a bit more difficult, I buttered the pans, then lined the bottom and opposing sides with parchment, using the overhang to assist in removal once it was time.
While having no effect on the cooking and the taste, I felt that my apple slices were marginally too thick. Next time, I’ll us my Kitchen Aid accessory to core and slice the apples. That will make for a uniform, and thinner slice, aiding considerably in creating a more uniform surface. Of course, that’s just a matter of personal preference.
KALEB’S NOTES
Using your hands, lightly pack the brown sugar in the measuring cup to get a correct measurement. For this recipe, the brown sugar does not need to be packed tightly, which would result in too much brown sugar.
To know when the crust/streusel is ready for the pan, grab a handful of the mixture. Smash it in your fist. If it holds its shape but can easily be crumbled apart, then the streusel is ready.
There’s no need to remove the skin from the apples. By not peeling them, you can save time, and it adds nutritional value to the bars.
never 2 old 2 start cooking 