What a lovely weekend it was here in New York! It was extremely windy and what seemed like unseasonably cold, so Kramer and I made sure to get outside and enjoy the breeze. We couldn’t seem to get enough sleep this weekend, as we fell asleep around 10:30 PM on Friday night. I think we both slept for about 10 hours straight. I guess we’ve been pretty exhausted! On Saturday, we went to brunch with a friend from work, Lindsey, and her boyfriend, Stephen, at Landmarc in Tribeca, which was honestly really delicious. Kramer and I usually go to pretty low-key places for brunch (when we go), so it was fun to go somewhere a little fancier. They were doing a special where for $25 each, you get two courses and two Stella Artois beers, so that didn’t hurt, either. After brunch, we saw Red, which was a fun, shoot-em-up type movie that I absolutely adore. John Malkovich was phenomenal, as usual. Every time I hear him yell at someone, I can’t help but smile. He just plays a lunatic so very well. After the movie, we stopped by the Amish Market to pick up a few things and look around. I love specialty grocery stores, even if I can’t afford to buy everything in them. It’s just fun to see all of the interesting products that they carry. We slept in on Sunday morning, and I spent the whole day in the kitchen while we watched some cheesy, but classic movies, such as Hackers. When “The Plague” skateboards by and grabs that floppy disk, I die laughing every time. It’s amazing. What are your favorite cheesy movies? Kramer and I usually watch one every weekend; they’re just so comforting and easy to have as background noise while we do chores or cook or anything else.
These Apple Oat Bars with Dulce de Leche are perfect for the chilly weather we’ve been experiencing lately. They’re great with a cup of tea at breakfast or as a seasonal dessert while at home or to share at a party. They are really loaded with apples, so you definitely get a big mouthful with every bite. I think if it has apples in it, you should be able to tell, right? I added in some cinnamon, because I think that apples and cinnamon are practically begging to be paired together, especially when you’ve got dulce de leche in there already. The dulce de leche acts as a glue, keeping the bars together, but at the same time, bringing them up to a whole new level. When looking at the bars, you’d really have no idea that the dulce de leche is in there, but believe me, it’s a welcome surprise. The oat crust cuts through the sweetness, but not too much. Each nibble of these bars will certainly put you into the spirit of the season.
Your ingredients.
Cream together the brown sugar and butter until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Combine 1 3/4 cup flour, oats, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
Add in the flour mixture to the brown sugar and butter and mix until combined and just moistened.
Reserve 2 cups of the dough and set aside. Press the rest of the dough into a greased and/or lined 9×13 dish.
Peel, core, and dice your apples. I used this handy tool to do all three.
You want your apples to be thin and no more than an inch wide. Toss them with lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of flour.
Spread the apples over the dough pressed into the dish.
Warm up your dulce de leche in the microwave for 30 second intervals until smooth and easy to drizzle. You can buy dulce de leche in most grocery stores, or you can make your own, which I’ve shown you how to do here.
Pour the dulce de leche over the apples.
Sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of oat mixture over the apples and dulce de leche. Press down slightly, to make sure the oat mixture sticks to the dulce de leche.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, until golden and set.
Allow to cool completely before cutting in bars.
Happy Autumn!
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups old fashioned oats (NOT instant oats)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3-4 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
- juice of half a lemon
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup dulce de leche (you can buy this in the store or you can make your own, recipe can be found here)
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Cream together the butter and brown sugar, until fluffy, about 3 minutes. In another bowl, combine 1¾ cup all-purpose flour, the oats, the cinnamon, the salt, and the baking soda. Set 2 cups of this mixture aside and press the remainder into a greased and/or lined 9x13 baking dish.
- Core, peel, and dice your apples into thin, bite-sized pieces. Toss them with lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Spread the apples over the dough pressed into the dish. Warm up your dulce de leche in the microwave in 30 second intervals, then drizzle it evenly over the apples (it doesn't have to be perfect). Sprinkle the 2 cups of flour mixture that was previously set aside over the apples and dulce de leche, then press down to be sure that everything sticks together. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until set and golden.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into small bars and refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 32-36 bars. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Mmmm, that sounds amazing! Like caramel apples 😀
Wei-Wei: My thoughts exactly!
Thank you!
This does sound like the perfect autumn dessert, and now that I can make dulce de leche so easily, I keep being drawn to recipes that use it. This is like a yummy caramel apple you can eat for breakfast!
(I’m totally green over your cool apple peeler/corer/slicer. I hate peeling and chopping apples!)
Michelle: Same here! Don’t be too jealous, though! I love it when I need it, but it’s also an awkward shape so it’s kind of hard to store! I mean, how often do you peel lots of apples except during this time of year, right? I’m just such a sucker for gadgets and tools!
Love this! I’m going to make it tonight!!
Question: in the picture of ingredients, what is the tablet thing on top of the Artisan Salt Fleur de Sel? I saw it in the cookie ingredients for the Salted Dulce de Leche cookie recipe as well and can’t figure it out.
Aimee: It’s just the price tag!
These sound wonderful. I’m going to make them this weekend as an anniversary present for my husband. Where do you think I can buy dulce de leche? A specialty store or a regular supermarket? What area do yu think it would be in?
Sue: Thanks! I would look either in the baking section or in the Latin section of your grocery store. I’d think you would be able to find it at any regular supermarket!
Oh yes ,these bars look sooo good ! I think I’ll make them for one of my many Thanksgiving desserts for the dessert buffet . We always have a big dessert buffet open house the evening of Thanksgiving for everyone and anyone who wants to stop in, that way everyone can do thier dinner thing with family and then stop in for cocktails and dessert . It’s so much fun , I also buy 3-5 newspapers and all of us girls make our plan of attack for black Fri.!
Tina: That sounds like a really fun tradition! I’m jealous! You must live in a tight-knit community – how lucky!
Yum! Apples, oats, and dulce de leche sounds like a winning combination!
~ingrid
Ingrid: Thank you! I can’t say that I disagree!
Sydney, the bars look awesome and the filling sure add extra flavor to the bars…YUMMIE!
Juliana: Thank you! It sure does!
Well wouldn’t you know it, I’ve got about a cup of dulce de leche that needs to be used up! This recipe is awesome, the perfect fall dessert!
Thanks a bunch, I love your site! Been lurking around it for quite sometime now, and it’s about time I piped up.
Cheers, Clair
Clair: Thank you so much!
I’m glad you’ve commented! I hope that your dulce de leche goes to good use with these bars!
Awesome! Dulce de Leche. I only eat Dulce de leche with some bread and this one is really new to me. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I should make this and share with the whole family.
Mel: I hope that you do share it!
Dulce de leche is great served simply as you’ve described, too, though!
These look perfect. I love that they’re cut into bars so it’s a small serving rather than sitting down to a big dessert. Looking forward to trying this recipe out this weekend. Anything with oats, apples and caramel has gotta be good. Living here in the Southwest, Dulce de Leche should be easy to find in the grocery store.
I can totally relate to your need to sleep, sleep, sleep lately. Our temps here in Las Vegas dropped about 30 degrees in a week. From the 90s to the 60s. It does this every year. I love the cooler weather but the body goes through a bit of an adjustment.
Denise: Thank you very much! I’m going to be in Las Vegas this weekend so hopefully I’ll be able to enjoy some nicer weather out there!
first time visitor here….but wow, you’re site is lovely!
love,
cathy b. @ brightbakes
Cathy B.: Thank you very much! I really appreciate hearing that
Wow! This is so indulging. I should better try this one this weekend. This is a healthy recipe. Apple, oatmeal and dulce de leche make it so nutritious.
ohhhhh that sounds so yummy!!
do u think i can use tin apples instead?
without a apple peeler, i think peeling the apple will take me hours! lol
Kwanster: I’ve never heard of tin apples! You really don’t have to peel them!
I love your little apple gadget, too! If only I had a million bucks, I’d have the best kitchen on the planet! 😉 I will definitely try these soon, they look like a winner!! Thanks, Sydney!
Genevieve: Thank you! I wish I had a million dollars to put into my dream kitchen, too!
Oh wow, these look delicious – and because there’s oats in them, they totally count as a breakfast snack, right? =)
Katie: Absolutely!
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Where did you find the cool apple peeler/corer/slicer? Would love to acquire one for the bunches of apples everyone wants in cakes and other goodies. Want to try this recipe today! Looks great. Thank you for sharing.
Trish: It’s available almost anywhere! You can probably get it off of Amazon – just google “apple corer”. The one I have is here.