Fall seems to be nipping at the heals of summer, chasing it away in favor of baked goods, apples, and light sweaters. Embrace the seasonal shift with this weeks fruit share and throw some perfectly chewy apple raspberry granola bars in the oven. They are so easy to make and qualify as breakfast, snack, or even dessert!
Ingredients
1 tsp coconut oil, melted
½ cup unsweetened applesauce, room temperature (to make fresh applesauce, peel and core 1 – 2 apples, depending on size, and simmer with 1 tbsp water about 15 minutes, then puree)
⅓ cup milk of choice
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 ½ cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups fresh raspberries, diced or 1 cup frozen
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease an 8”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray or other oil of choice. In a large bowl, stir together the oil and applesauce until smooth. Mix in the milk, honey and cinnamon until thoroughly combined. Stir in the oats until evenly coated with the applesauce mixture. Gently fold in the raspberries.
Press the oat mixture into the prepared pan, and bake at 350°F for 14-18 minutes, checking after 10 minutes. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan before slicing into 10 bars.
Notes: For a vegan version, substitute your favorite non-dairy milk and agave in place of the honey.
It’s important for the applesauce to be at room temperature to prevent the melted coconut oil from re-solidifying.
For best storage results, tightly wrap each individual bar in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
Bonus? They’re easy to make vegan, gluten-free, and qualify as clean-eating. Thanks Amy’s Healthy Baking from where we adapted the recipe to use fresh ingredients from this weeks share.