Apple oat bars with dulce de leche

Apple Oat Bars with Dulce de Leche

It’s definitely time to be baking up delicious Fall desserts, but I find myself avoiding anything apple simply because I don’t like peeling, coring, and slicing the darn things.  I’ve even been trying to convince my mom to can apple pie filling for me and she just refuses.  So really, I was looking for the least amount of apple prep that would give me the apple pay-off I wanted, and I found these bars.  And believe me, my search definitely paid off.

Warm from the oven, these apple oat bars were wonderful.  It was kind of like an apple cobbler you could eat right out of your hand.  If you’re an a-la-mode sort, then I highly advise adding a big scoop of ice cream drizzled with a little extra dulce de leche.  But in a bowl, of course.  No sense getting messy.

Recipe:  Apple Oat Bars with Dulce de Leche

(found at Crepes of Wrath, adapted from Straight from the Farm)

1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (NOT instant oats)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3-4 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
juice of half a lemon or 3 Tbsp. apple juice
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup dulce de leche (you can buy a can or click here to make your own)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  In another bowl, combine 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, the oats, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended.  Set 2 cups of this mixture aside and press the remainder into a greased and/or lined 9×13″ baking dish.

Core, peel, and dice apples into thin, bite-sized pieces.  Toss them with juice and 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Spread the apples over the dough base.  Warm up your dulce de leche in the microwave in 30 second intervals, if needed to make it pouring consistency, then drizzle it over the apples.  Sprinkle the 2 cups of reserved flour and oat mixture over the apples and dulce de leche, then press down gently.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until set and golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Cut into small bars and refrigerate until ready to serve or serve immediately while still warm. Makes 32-36 bars. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

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