Healthy snack or breakfast treat. Made with apples, oats, and nuts.
Course Breakfast, Snack
Servings 6
Author Emily Roach
Equipment
8x8 Square Baking Pan
Ingredients
1tbspchia seeds
3tbspwater
3.5cupsrolled oatsdivided
2 tspground cinnamon
1 tspbaking powder
1/4 tspsalt
4apples
1/3cupmaple syrup
1/2cupalmond milksub regular milk or cashew milk
1egg
1/2 cupraisinssub currants
1tspvanilla extract
1cupwalnutsdivided
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper, or grease well.
Mix together water and chia seeds in a small bowl. Whisk with a fork and set aside.
In a high-speed blender, add 2 1/2 cups of rolled oats. Blend on high until you reach a flour consistency.
In a large bowl, add the oat flour, the remaining 1 cup of oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and sea salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
Core and roughly chop two apples. Place them in the blender along with the chia seed mixture (wait till it's a gel-like consistency), almond milk, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Blend on high until smooth.
Pour the blender ingredients into the flour bowl and mix well. Add in the raisins and walnuts.
Thinly slice the other apples into half-moons.
Pour 1/2 the batter into the prepared pan. Spread it out evenly.
Add a layer of apples so they cover the batter. Top with the remaining batter.
If you have extra apple slices use those to decorate the top. Otherwise use a 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts as a topping. (optional)
Bake 25-27 minutes or until lightly golden and cooked through. The bars need to cool completely to avoid crumbling. Let sit in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove bars with parchment sheet and let cool another 15 minutes before diving in.
Store on the counter for 2 days, or in your fridge for up to 6 days. Freezes well for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nut-free? Skip the walnuts and double up on the dried fruit so you have more texture. Dried currants, cherries, or chopped dates are all good options. Choose nut-free plant-based milk to make it nut-free and dairy-free.Egg-free or Vegan? You can skip the egg. If you do, it may have a slightly more oatmeal-like texture. Cook long enough so it's fully set.Apples on top? We were a little split on this at home. It's a pretty decoration, but the apples don't fully cook so they get a bit chewy. You can beef up the middle layer with more apples so they cook and break down more and dress up the top with chopped nuts.