Can you think of anything better than having dessert for breakfast?
Me neither. Which would explain why when I’m thinking of what to make for breakfast, dessert-type dishes usually come to mind… specifically, dishes like leftover oatmeal chocolate cake, oatmeal peach crumble and baked oatmeal (usually in carrot cake or pumpkin pie flavors).
Oatmeal also comes to mind when I’m thinking about breakfast. Mostly because it’s a typical breakfast food, but it’s also very frugal. At less than 10¢ for a 1/2 cup serving, it’s the most affordable grain that I know of. Plus it’s packed with nutrients too, making it my preferred grain for the first meal of the day.
A few weeks ago, the grandparents, kids and I went apple picking at a local u-pick farm. We had picked strawberries there before, but this was our first time picking apples. My son was concerned that he would need a ladder to reach the branches, but when we arrived, we were greeted with rows and rows of dwarf trees, making picking an incredibly rewarding and fun experience.
What to do with gallons of apples
We brought home roughly 9 gallons worth of apples in all sorts of varieties. Hands down, our favorite way to enjoy apples is to eat them fresh, but a foodie can’t help but want to make something with them when there’s three large buckets full sitting in the kitchen.
My first instinct was the slab apple pie for our weekly family dinner, but my step-mom had already beat me to it. Our neighbor recently had a baby, so they got the incredibly simple oatmeal apple crumble, but still the craving wasn’t satisfied. Sure I made something, but I didn’t get to eat it!
Finally, a recipe from this cookbook inspired me to make a fun breakfast bar that tasted like dessert, although it would certainly need to be modified. The two main issues were a) using fresh apples instead of jam, and b) reducing the sugar.
That particular recipe called for 1/2 cup sugar, on top of berry jam that was likely made with sugar too. No doubt it would have been delicious, and 1/2 cup of sugar for 9 bars really isn’t that bad of a ratio, but we’re doing a fairly decent job of cutting back on processed sugar around here and we’re even reducing our intake of natural sweeteners too.
Oatmeal Apple Breakfast Bars
With my thinking cap on, I opted to swap the naturally sweet fresh apples for the berry jam, substitute honey for brown sugar and even then reduce it by more than half. I also reduced the butter (just a little) and used whole grains in place of all-purpose flour. All in all, despite the fact that it tastes like an apple pie, it’s a pretty darn healthy breakfast that is super easy to put together!
Oh, and I assure you that you’ll have no problem whatsoever getting your kids to eat these bars. Even the ones that don’t like oatmeal will devour these, and then ask for more… at breakfast, lunch, snack and dessert! Good thing the recipe can easily be doubled!
UPDATE 10/10/14: Thank you to all the wonderful feedback on this recipe! I thought that making it 3 times before posting was enough, but apparently not! I’ve made it two more times, with slightly different modifications and I think I’ve come up with a way to make them stay together AND increase the moisture – on a consistent basis. What you see is the updated version. Feel free to try them again and leave more feedback!
- ½ cup oat flour (or sub additional whole wheat or spelt flour)
- 1 cup whole wheat or spelt flour
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- scant ½ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp cinnamon OR apple pie spice
- 8 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2-3 apples, washed and set aside
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Preheat the oven to 350F and butter a 9"x9" glass baking dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add butter and honey and cut with a pastry cutter, two knives or your hands until the mixture is moist and crumbly, about the size of peas. (Do not cheat and use a stand mixer to do this for you otherwise the bars will not turn out.)
- Add oats and again, use a pastry cutter, two knives or your hands to evenly distribute the oats Be sure to not allow the butter to melt.
- Measure 2 cups of this mixture and press down into the bottom of the prepared glass pan.
- Peel one apple and set peel aside. Dice the apple into ¼" pieces. Measure 2 cups worth into a medium bowl. Repeat with the second apple if additional apple is needed to reach 2 cups. (I used 1¼ large apple to reach 2 cups.)
- Place the peels and any remaining apple along with vanilla and lemon juice into a blender and puree until mostly smooth. It is okay if some pieces are large, but no larger than ¼". Add this mixture to the diced apples and stir to combine well.
- Pour apples evenly over the dough. Using a spatula, evenly distribute and press down the apple mixture.
- Crumble the remaining dough evenly over the top and again, press down lightly.
- Bake until the top is golden brown, approximately 25-30 minutes. Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting. Cutting the bars before they have completely cooled will cause the bars to crumble.
- When cutting, gently use a "sawing" motion, rather than a slice and drag, in order to get a better "bar."
- Store in the refrigerator. Bars will be even more "bar" once chilled.
Additional Recipe Tips
- Gluten-free Option: Substitute your favorite gluten-free flour (whole grain or blend) in place of the whole wheat
- Dairy-free Option: substitute coconut oil for butter (or try clarified butter)
- Resist the temptation to slice apples thinly, instead of in chunks. This method results in bars that are very hard to cut into squares… although they’re just as delicious!
- Save time by making this the night before and store in the fridge for a quicker breakfast in the morning. Simply add approximately 5 minutes to the baking time.
- Did you make this chunky homemade applesauce? Try substituting 1/2-3/4 cup of that in place of the apples for another delicious variation.
Cost Breakdown
- whole wheat flour: $0.50
- honey: $0.51
- salt: $0.01
- baking powder: $0.02
- baking soda: $0.01
- butter: $1.12
- oats: $0.18
- apples: $1.60
- cinnamon: $0.10
Total Cost of Oatmeal Apple Breakfast Bars: $4.05
This calculation includes higher end ingredients like grass-fed butter, local apples and honey. If your budget cannot afford these items swap for conventional ingredients and your total for the meal will be approximately $1 less.
This looks delicious, Tiffany! I love dessert for breakfast…the only problem is then I still want to eat dessert for dessert, too! 😉
LOL, I’ve been known to eat these for a few meals in a row… dessert included. 😉
It look yummy! I’m going to try it but I will grind up some oats in my coffee bean grinder for the flour. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re most welcome Esther!
I made this yesterday and didn’t think it turned out very well, the bottom especially was pretty dry and hard. I looked at the recipe again today and realized I totally forgot to add the oats! That probably would have helped!
LOL, I almost did the same thing once! I actually had to dump out the crust, add the oats, and then keep going. I hope you try it again with the oats! I promise it tastes good! 🙂
I just received a box of pears I need to do something with. What do you think of a fruit substitution?
Definitely! Pears would also be good in these recipes too, as substitutions:
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2013/08/yummy-recipe-oatmeal-peach-breakfast-crumble/
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2013/12/elegant-frugal-vanilla-bean-cheesecake-apples
I just made these and they looked so perfect and yummy, however the taste wasn’t so pleasant, they were way too salty!! Even my 2 kids said that! One could easily go with half the salt that is called for in this recipe, and next time I would either drizzle some honey over the diced apples or add a little bit brown sugar to make it a bit sweet with the apple mixture.
Thanks so much for the feedback Melissa! Did you use salted butter by chance? I understand adding a bit more sweetener. We’ve drastically cut back, and I found that adding less than 3 Tbsp wasn’t quite enough, but that this was the “just right” mark for our family.
HI Tiffany,
I’ve run into the same issue as Melissa. is the 1tsp of each baking powder and soda a mistake by any chance? That’s all I could taste.
Karolina
Oh – these look amazing! My kids eat oatmeal for breakfast almost every day – they would kiss me if I make these tomorrow morning! They look pretty easy to whip up, too.
My kids love this as an alternative to ‘plain’ oatmeal. It makes them fee pretty special, and an extra kiss or two is nearly guaranteed. 😉
I just made these. The taste was good and I liked how they were barely sweet, but they were very very dry. Maybe my apples were significantly less juicy than yours? I think we will salvage these by eating them over yogurt and next time I will add more liquid to the dough.
Hmm… Maybe? Our apples were from a local u-pick farm. I made this recipe three times and didn’t have any issues with dryness. Do they not even stick together? I’d suggest adding 1-2 Tbsp of butter or coconut oil to the crumble mixture. I’m so sorry they didn’t turn out for you! I’m glad you enjoyed the level of sweetness. 🙂
No, they were too dry and crumbly to even cut into bars at all. It was just apples and crumbs. My three year old is enjoying them anyhow! I want to like them more, so I will try it again.
Tarynkay – give me a couple days to work this out before you try again. I know these work, but I want to determine where the disconnect is between my recipe and everyone’s kitchen. 🙂
These were great! I added an extra Tablespoon of honey, cut the butter to 6 Tablespoons, and added 3 Tablespoons of applesauce to the dough. I also sprinkled brown sugar on the apples with some cinnamon and nutmeg. They are delicious. I’m glad we got 75 pounds of apples because I plan on making these again after we demolish this pan. I think next time I’ll add some ground flax seed as well.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Melissa! I wonder if applesauce is the key for those whose batches aren’t turning out right… I’m going to test again with this tip, and hopefully figure out a way for everyone to enjoy these!
Made these tonight for breakfast in the morning. They were good but not great. Definitely too salty. I used unsalted butter. They are also a bit dry although they do stay together pretty well. My apples were not from the orchard and could have definitely been juicer. I think with juicer more flavorful apples and half the salt these would be fantastic. Looking forward to my kids feedback in the morning! Thanks!
Hi Mara! I made a small adjustment to the recipe, which might help with the saltiness. So strange that some readers have bars, while others have crumbles, lol. I hope your kids enjoy them!
My 5 year old son said, “This is really good!” I agree!
First recipe I’ve tried from your site. Looked amazing but were very dry, salty and not enough flavor. I used local organic apples. Went in the trash 🙁 Love the idea though and the concept of your blog!
Hi Crystal! Clearly, you’re not the only one to have issues with this recipe. I’ve made some changes, and I encourage you to give them another shot. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement!
I made these this morning. They were good…except way too salty. That was the first comment from my 7 yr old. I bake alot so I used the ingredients exactly as listed…spelt flour, kosher salt (1 tsp.), unsalted butter(8 tbl), etc. I will try to remake but I will definitely cut the salt in half at least and probably add a little more cinnamon or maybe some nutmeg also. They have great potential just way too salty without modifications. Thanks for the base for me to start with…I wouldn’t have been able to come up with the whole recipe alone. Appearance wise…they were spot on. They held together as well as expected. I did pack them pretty well with each added layer. Overall…wonderful recipe just less salt!
Hi Rachel! Thanks for the feedback. 🙂 I’ve done two more batches of these and made some adjustments to the recipe so that the crumbly/dry/bar issue isn’t hit and miss. And I reduced the salt. 🙂 I’m glad you’re enjoying these as a base for further modifications!
I’m really excited to try these, but I have a few questions. In step 7, you instruct to pour cinnamon apples over the dough. Did you add cinnamon in addition to the cinnamon mixed in with the dough in step 2? How much cinnamon did you add at this time? Also, did you add the vanilla extract and lemon juice in step 6? They are not mentioned in the instruction portion of the recipe. I didn’t just want to assume anything…Thanks so much!
Hi Jodi! I made some modifications to the recipe yesterday, so my apologies for the confusing instructions. I’ll be sure to review those again. To keep it simple, I put the cinnamon with the dough (1 1/2 tsp) and added lemon juice and vanilla to the apples. It just made mixing easier. 🙂 I hope you like version 2.0!
Tried the updated recipe this morning, and it came out very dry and crumbly. The flavor is good, so we’re eating them, but the dough (esp top layer) seems to need a significant amount of additional moisture.
Hey lady,
Finally had a chance to make these. I wasn’t going to dirty something just to puree peels (since my two apples were exactly two cups) so I just dumped the apples on my crust and dabbed applesauce over it lol the middles stay together fairly well. The kids and I enjoyed it 🙂 I think having something in the recipe about using applesauce (which would be in place of pureeing like you had apple left) it would make it more standard for more people to follow.
Thanks for the suggestion Helen – I appreciate it! 🙂
Tiffany , looking at the ingredient list. Am I missing something? I dont see apples !?
I see them – third from the bottom. “2-3 apples, washed” 😉
Sorry… Thats what I get for trying to read the recipe, nurse the baby, do homework with my boys, and referee a sibling toy fight all at the same time !
LOL – you’re hands are pleasantly full 🙂 Forgiven!!
Just found your blog via Pinterest, these bars looks fabulous! I am all for dessert for breakfast!!
Ditto!!
I would suggest cutting WAY back on the flour. Our bars were so dusty with flour we couldn’t eat them.
I didn’t run into this issue while testing the recipe, but thank you for sharing Jessica!
I’m an experienced baker, but this recipe is a huge FAIL if you try to substitute as they direct you. If you use whole wheat flour, you need to increase your liquid else you’ll end up with a bar so dry it doesn’t hold together well and will be making you reach for glass after glass of beverage.
Whoever wrote this recipe is an idiot. Plain and simple. It needs to be removed from this site.
Hi Donovan- I wrote this recipe and tested it myself MANY times before posting, and then again after posting and didn’t have any issues at all (hence the reason why I shared). I’m sorry your bars didn’t turn out. Perhaps it’s environmental factors that made the difference? As I said, I’ve made this numerous times (7+ at least) and it’s worked every time.
I have no idea why this recipe would cause so much strife for others, but with just a little added sweetness from stevia, I made this with peaches and it was to die for! Good work! I’m sorry others have been so insensitive in their criticism.
Thanks so much for your encouragement and feedback Alex! I bet the peaches rocked this recipe. I’ll have to try that version next time for sure!! 🙂
Can you tell me if these turn out crunchy or soft? Looking for something to make snack food for a 1 year old! (who tries and is mostly succeeding at eating whole apples anyways with her 2 little teeth!) I really like the look of this recipe for not being filled with sugar! I can’t use honey though – do I substitute the same amount of brown sugar?
These are soft 🙂 I haven’t tried brown sugar, and don’t know if it would sub as well since it’s solid (not liquid), but you’re always welcome to try!
I read the comments about this recipe being dry, so I tried adding some extra applesauce, but it was still so crumbly that it’s kind of like eating instant oatmeal. I’m not sure what you do so differently than the people who are trying your recipe; I believe you when you say it worked when you tested it, but I think it’s pretty clear that it’s just not reproducible consistently for your audience. It might help if you tell us what kind of apple you’ve been using, since different apples produce very different results. I made mine with Empire apples.
I ended up taking the crumbly oats and adding milk, then microwaving it like regular oatmeal. It made it passable, though it’s still a bit salty, and mostly just tastes like weird butter with apples in it (I added 1/4 tsp, and my husband pointed out the salty taste first thing; he hadn’t even read the comments about that, so it’s an unbiased opinion).
Thank you for sharing the recipe, and I’m glad it works for you, but I don’t see myself trying this one again.
I made it tonight and you could tell there was no sugar in th recipe. Needs to be a tad seeter.
Feel free to add a sweetener Virginia. 🙂
Hi Tiffany! I just found your blog. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long. Wow. It’s so refreshing to find a like minded resource like you posting such great stuff!
About the recipe, I was just getting ready to try it out. After reading all the comments I thought, “I wonder if it’s sifting that is causing the problem?” and thought I’d post first. You don’t specify “sifted flour” vs. just scooped flour. I’m very old-school and other than in bread-making and pizza dough, I sift EVERYTHING. If I don’t, I end up with tiny chunks of baking powder or soda that inevitably end up in one “failed bite” of muffin. Of course, I was taught ALWAYS sift as you measure your flour, unless it says “Unsifted Flour” in the recipe. I get the feeling, from reading so many recipes on the web, that the younger generations aren’t all taught this very important point. The test we did in cooking class (way back in 1976) showed a lightly scooped but unsifted cup of flour to be at least 3 tablespoons over a cup, after it was sifted. If the flour had been packed in during storage, transport or in measuring, the overage could even be higher! The sifted cup of flour remained a cup, even after sifting again. Maybe this has something to do with the pesky, crumbly problems some people have had?
Just my two cents worth … hope it helps! Keep up the good work Tiffany. It’s much appreciated.
I’m in the uk and have made this at least 10 times, i like sweet stuff so add some caramel to mine over the apples ( i can my own apples into apple sauce i use 2 small jars) and over the top, it gives the sweetness i like, my teen daughter loves them also and have found no problems with being dry or salty, thanks for sharing love this site 😀
I’ve made this recipe before and my family loves it, but I haven’t made it since last fall. Yesterday I decided to try it with peaches, so I made a batch after the kids were in bed. It turned out awesome and they were so excited to have a special breakfast when they got up this morning! I did the crust/topping the same as in the recipe, but for the filling I simply used sliced peaches and a little lemon juice (no pureed apples/peels, etc). I probably added about 3 cups of peaches since we have a lot of super ripe peaches to use up soon . . . the peaches were very juicy and I was worried it might turn out soggy but it’s nice and perfectly moist. I love how this recipe isn’t too sweet. Oh, and I’ve always used less salt than the recipe calls for, maybe a scant 1/4 tsp and it’s great that way. Thanks for a good recipe!
You’re very welcome Crystal! I’m so glad these turned out for you when you swapped in peaches too (even omitting the pureed portion, because that was added after the fact when some had trouble with the original…)!! I hadn’t thought of making that swap myself, but peaches are on sale this week! 😉
I figured I’d be safe leaving out the pureed portion since these peaches are so ripe and juicy and I added more than the 2 cups of apples called for. With less ripe peaches it might not work out so well. Anyway, it tastes awesome with either apples or peaches since I’ve made it both ways now! My husband ate a piece for breakfast this morning topped with a fried egg and loved it.
WHOA – fried egg on this breakfast bar?! MIND BLOWN, and must try ASAP!!!
I made these and they needed a bit more sweet and i take out the peeling part and add apple juice. This recipe is too bland and dry.
I had to add many ingredients to perfect it.
I’m sorry you struggled with this recipe Trula. They worked for me as written. Environment and altitude will effect recipes too!