Woohoo! Fall is finally here. I cannot tell you how excited I am for not only all the autumnal activities, but also the recipes I want to try, make and share on here! As I’ve gotten older, autumn has become a close second to my favorite season of the year (AKA spring). I’ve noticed my level of inspiration goes up in both spring and fall and both bring a sense of newness. I always feel like fall brings a fresh start, and a special one because although it can be a hectic time of year, it forces you to slow down and feel gratitude. One of my favorite quotes describing this time of year is, “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall”-F.Scott Fitzgerald. It’s a time to let things go, live presently (as we always should), start something new and enjoy all the festivities to come. That being said, I can’t wait to share some autumn fun right here on this blog. Now that that spiel is over with, let’s talk about these apple bars!
They’re simple in the best way. Oats, butter, sugar, flour, raising agents and cinnamon come together to make a warm, buttery crust that contrasts perfectly with the sweet apple butter spread between both layers of crust. It’s a perfect fall treat to give away, serve warm for dessert with some ice cream, or simply snack on during the day. Let me show you how easy it is.
Begin by combining flour, baking powder and salt. I also later decided to add cinnamon to the base, so to make it easier add that in now as well. Measure the oats and set aside.
In a stand mixer, or bowl with your hand mixer, cream together the room temperature butter and brown sugar. It doesn’t have to be perfect because the rest of the ingredients are going to get mixed in with it. It’s not like cake batter or even certain cookie recipes where you have to whip the butter for a while, before precariously adding dry and wet ingredients. We just want the butter and sugar to be blended a little before the dry ingredients ultimately combine to form a quick dough. I’m telling you, these are the easiest things to make.
Add the dry ingredients and oats and mix until it comes together in a dough like mass.
Split the dough mixture in two and press one half of it in a 9×13 inch baking dish. It may seem like you need more, but trust me, you don’t! Just keep pressing and spreading it until it covers the whole bottom of the pan.
Next, spread an entire 10 oz jar of apple butter on top. You could of course use pumpkin butter or any similar consistency of spread. I make these pretty much all throughout the year with strawberry jam and it is a family favorite. 🙂
Crumble the remaining half of the dough on the apple butter until you can barely see the apple butter underneath, and most of the surface area of the pan is covered.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes or until light golden brown. I baked mine for exactly 33 minutes.
Let cool completely, cut and serve!
Hope you will give this simple recipe a try and let me know what you think. I can’t wait to share more fall fun on my blog, and I hope you guys are as excited as me. Let me know what fall treats you make every year, and what your favorite thing about the season is!
With love,
Jenna
Apple Butter Oat Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar light or dark
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 10 oz jar apple butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper.
- Measure out your oats and set aside. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
- Cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the oats and flour mixture until well combined and a dough-like ball forms.
- Split the dough into two even pieces.
- Press one half of the dough into the pan. It may seem like one half is not enough, but trust me, it is! Just keep pressing and spreading until it covers the whole pan.
- Spread the whole jar of apple butter over the dough mixture. Then, crumble the other half of the dough on top, until the apple butter is almost completely covered.
- Bake for around 30 minutes. I baked mine for 33 minutes exactly. It should look nice and golden brown on top.
- Let cool completely and then cut and serve. Enjoy!
Can’t wait to make this recipe, looks delicious! Thank you for breaking it down and making it seem so simple to bake!
Author
Woohoo! Can’t wait to see what ya think of it!