Sometimes when I read blogs, there are recipes that scream “get in your kitchen and make this now!” That definitely happened when reading Angela’s recent post for her Oat Squares with Homemade Jam. We were off to a fall party this weekend, so I knew this was the perfect opportunity to try it out.

I wanted to go with the fall theme and use a seasonal fruit. I used up the rest of the local apples that Natalie brought me the other day.

They’re so cute + tiny.

Can you believe I didn’t use pumpkin? I was going to make the batch with my pumpkin butter, instead of a fruit topping, but honestly I just couldn’t part with it!! :)

I’ve said this before, but I’m not a big fan of hot, mushy apples.

Cooking these make them soft, but not apple pie soft. Also, there was more of the oat bar than apple mixture and they were served slightly chilled, instead of warm like pie.

There are quite a few steps to the recipe, but it was fairly simple to follow. I decided to jazz up the apple filling with fresh grated ginger and other fall spices.

After the bars were in the oven, I got working on cornbread. For some reason I threw in what was left of our fresh rosemary. I also added garlic powder, black pepper and a little extra salt.

It smelled amazing, but I’m not sold on the savory spice addition with corn flour flavor. Not recipe worthy!

Not bad, but definitely not my favorite.

The oat bars were done and smelled amazing. It took everything in my not to dig in. Okay okay..when I cut them I ate one. Someone has to do the quality control!

Every last bar was scarfed down at the party and everyone raved about them. You can thank Angela!! The oatmeal base is amazing. I love the thick oat texture and the slightly sweet, brown sugary flavor. These melt in your mouth and have a great chew.

I think the apple topping paired perfectly with the rest of the bar.

For the oat base + topping, I followed Angela’s directions exactly. For the apple filling, I followed her instruction, but changed up the ingredients.

Apple Fruit Topping

2 1/2c thinly sliced apples
3T sucanat [or brown sugar]
1T brown rice syrup [or maple syrup/honey]
1t fresh grated ginger [or 1/4t dried]
1t cinnamon
1/4t all spice
1/8t cloves
pinch nutmeg

*Angela used chia seeds to thicken her mixture, but they were not needed for this variation. After simmering for 10min and letting cool for 10min, the mixture had thickened nicely.

*For the oat mixture I used Spectrum [vegan] shortening, instead of Earth Balance. It worked perfectly.

*I used all whole wheat pastry flour, instead of Kamut flour.

I was so very happy with these. They were out of control delicious!! Again, the texture was just perfect. So soft + chewy. Like a thick soft baked oatmeal cookie.

We drove to Denver, to hang out with the usual crowd. So fun to see all of our friends.

The lovely party hosts, Ali + Hovan!! They made 2 different kinds of chili and had all the typical toppings. Ali made a huge pot of all veggie chili, which was so nice, and oh.so.delicious.

This bowl was full of garbanzo beans, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and loads of delicious flavor. Ali does something I’ve never seen and tops giant shell pasta with the chili. I’m sold! It was super tasty. With a side of my funky cornbread and a dollop of sour cream!

All of our friends are such good cooks! Get togethers are always delicious. :)

Hovan is a stellar brew master and tapped his Octoberfest beer for the occasion. He made a delicious pumpkin beer that was smooth and full of spice. I absolutely loved it but kept to it 1/2 a cup, since I was driving home + feeling a bit under the weather. Just couldn’t pass up a taste test though!