#SecretRecipeClub ~ Apple Crisp Mix-In the Pan Bars

Welcome to the July 2016 Group B reveal day for Secret Recipe Club. I hope you will take a moment to visit the Secret Recipe Club if you've never heard of it before - it is a wonderful group of food bloggers who are given a secret assignment of another member's blog each month and our goal is to pick ANYTHING from their blog to make and post about on our designated reveal day.

This month I was assigned to A Spoonful of Thyme. I limited my search to "apples" because I have a refrigerator full of them still and because they're granny smiths I will only bake with them - eating them causes too much puckering for me! There were sooo many good options to choose from! Apple Crostata, Apple Crisp Mix In The Pan Bars, Fresh Apple Cake, Upside Down Apple Pie were my finalists since not only did they all sound fantastic, they all used a fair amount of apples in the recipe. 

These Cobbler Bars are amazing. Seriously a keeper! The flavor of these is wonderful - so sweet loaded with perfectly tender apples, the oat mix on top is seasoned just right. The brown sugar and cinnamon is balanced so well. Everyone who tasted this recipe loved it, and I will absolutely use this one again and again. And you can eat it for breakfast - because oats and apples, right??! :) Definitely save this one and give it a try soon the next time you have a handful of granny smith apples ready to use. 

Apple Crisp Mix-In the Pan Bars from A Spoonful of Thyme

Ingredients
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon, divided
3/4 tsp salt
3/8 tsp baking soda (1/4 plus 1/8 tsp)
12 TBS salted butter, melted
6 cups (appx. 6 large apples) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, halved and sliced thin (about 1/8-inch thick), divided
2 TBS granulated sugar, divided
1 TBS fresh squeezed lemon juice 

Directions

1. Place the oven rack in the middle. Preheat to 375° F.
2. Combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, the salt, and the baking soda directly into a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.  Add the butter and stir until moistened.  Reserve 1 cup of the crumbs and set aside.  Firmly press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan.
3. Spread half of the apple slices evenly over the crust.  Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of the sugar, the lemon juice, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon over the apples.
4. Layer the remaining apples and then sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top.  Scatter the reserved oat mixture over the apples and cover the pan tightly with foil.
5. Bake for 30 minutes to start to soften the apples.  Remove the foil and continue to bake until the oat topping is golden and the apples are tender, about 30 minutes longer.
6. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool.  Cut into rectangles.

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