I had a dilemma the other day and sought inspiration from my followers on Instagram. Basically, I was very kindly gifted a large bag of apples from a colleague in work. However, this was possibly the third bag of apples in two weeks and I was really struggling to make my way through them all.
A batch of crumble was made with the first, more batches of stewed apple to add to my morning granola or porridge with the second and then the third bag came. I was really beginning to hit rock bottom on my apple recipes. I felt if I made something sweet, I would just end up eating it all myself so sought inspiration from elsewhere.
Suggestions of jam, juice, freezing stewed batches for tarts, crumbles and pies was all well and good if you used jam regularly, owned a juicer and had enough space in your freezer. I unfortunately was a negative for all three.
Back to the drawing board I went and then an idea came. How about twisting an old apple recipe with my tried and tested Oat Loaf recipe. The result is these tasty, healthy and utterly simple Apple & Oat Cinnamon Squares.
If coconut isn’t your thing then just leave it out and any kind of nuts will ensure a tasty bake!
Makes 12.
- 150g oats
- 30g walnuts
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 150g apple, grated
- 100g carrot, grated
- 200g vanilla yoghurt
- 1 tbsp flaked almonds
- Heat an oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F and line a square sandwich tin with parchment.
- Place all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the apple, carrot and yoghurt. Mix together until well combined.
- Place the mixture into the prepared tin and evenly spread out.
- Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.
- Store in an airtight container and the squares will keep fresh for 3 days.
