By Mid-August in Tulsa. Brayden is forty-six weeks old. He is walking with confidence now — ten or twelve steps in a row before he sits or grabs furniture. The apartment is now fully his to navigate. We have moved the magazines off the lower shelf of the coffee table and the small ceramic vase off the side table. The space is being continuously updated to track his expanding range.
The apple crumb bars are a one-pan fall dessert — shortbread base, apple-pie-style filling layer in the middle (diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, flour for thickening), oat-and-brown-sugar crumb topping. Baked at three-fifty for forty-five minutes. The bars cool in the pan for two hours before slicing, which gives the filling time to set so the cuts hold their shape.
The bars are the first fall-leaning dessert I have made this year. The August evenings in Tulsa have started to cool slightly — the high-eighties of mid-summer have been replaced by mid-eighties days and low-seventies nights. The cooler nights have shifted my dessert-instincts toward warmer spices. The apple crumb bars are the seasonal pivot from summer-fruit desserts toward fall-spice desserts.
Sunday I made a 9x13 pan. Twenty-four bars total. Eight for the freezer (individually wrapped). Sixteen for the week and the catering-job-prep that is now four weeks out. Dustin had two with his Sunday-evening coffee. Brayden had a small piece of plain cooked apple from the filling-prep (the pediatrician’s solid-foods list has cleared cooked apple for him).
Aunt Linda’s small twice-weekly Tulsa-visits continue. She arrives at two PM. She stays for two hours. She holds Brayden (and later helps with both kids). She drinks the small cup of coffee I keep ready. We talk through the small week’s family-news. The small visits are the small social-thread that connects the Tulsa-apartment-life to the small Sapulpa-extended-family.
Brayden’s small developmental milestones have been arriving on the small typical-schedule. The pediatrician has been pleased at the small monthly check-ins. The small baby-and-now-toddler life continues to be the small foreground of the small family-of-three rhythm.
Apple Crumb Bars
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 16 bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
- 4 medium apples, peeled and thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper or grease lightly.
- Make the crumb mixture. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pour in the melted butter and stir until evenly combined and crumbly. Press about 2/3 of the mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Prepare the apple filling. In a separate bowl, toss the sliced apples with granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice until evenly coated.
- Layer and top. Spread the apple mixture evenly over the pressed crust. Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the top of the apples, pressing gently.
- Bake. Bake for 40–45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the apples are tender when pierced with a fork.
- Cool and slice. Let the bars cool completely in the pan before cutting into 16 squares. They hold together better once fully cooled.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 230 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 30g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 135mg