OAT APPLE CRUMBLE BARS

I leave for London & Scotland in 4 days and I’m really excited about 10 days of only having fun. But these 4 days are cramped with work. I’m trying to schedule as much work as possible so that I don’t feel guilty about the ten day break that awaits me. The next 4 days are packed with meetings, video shoots and a lot of baking. I made these oat-apple crumble bars because I wanted to eat something dessert-y for breakfast. They’re made with whole-wheat, oats and not sugar. It also has fruit so basically makes for a great sweet breakfast option.  I, off course, beat the purpose by topping these healthy oat apple crumble bars with caramel sauce and vanilla ice-cream.

Oh and did I mention that these oat apple crumble bars are also egg less?

INGREDIENTS-

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup honey/ maple syrup
• 1 cup cold butter, cubed

APPLE FILLING-

• 4 large apples, peeled, cored and cubed
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

PROCEDURE-

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Line a 9X13 rectangular tin with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, whisk whole wheat flour and oat flour.
• Add honey and mix well.
• Use your fingers to incorporate cold butter into the flour. Mix until it comes together when pinched. Divide the dough into 2 parts.
• Press one half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Use your fingers or bottom of a glass to press it down properly.
• Bake at 180C for 10-12 minutes until the edges become golden brown.
• To make the apple filling, cook all the ingredients in a saucepan set over medium heat until the apples begin to breakdown. The filling should not be runny.
• Spread the filling on the baked dough in an even layer.
• Crumble the second half of the dough and sprinkle it on the apple filling.
• Bake at 180C for 25-30 minutes until the crumble topping is golden brown.
• Let the bars cool completely before slicing them.