Dried Apple Breakfast Bars

Dried Apple Breakfast Bars

Winter in Ontario. It either comes in cloudy grey lined with depressing slush or dazzling blue edged with blinding white snow.

But there’s a new colour this season. Red.Very fitting for a Canadian-grown fruit.

These Red Prince apples are a new variety grown just a couple hours away from me — in ski country no less. Here the Jonathan meets the Golden Delicious. And this is truly a prince of an apple. You can bake with it, cook with it or just eat it as is. Me? I decided to try something I’d never done before. I dried mine.

Pretty, aren’t they? The resulting dried apples are at once sweet and tart. A bit like a dried cranberry. Only without the added sugar. The brilliant red skin even makes them look a bit like cranberries. But the tiny blocks shown above are just plain old apples, slowly dried in the oven. They’re so tasty I had to stop myself for gobbling them by the handful.

I considered making a trail mix but settled upon a breakfast bar because I’m so bad about eating a morning meal.

The recipe is inspired by a nut-free energy bar on the Red Prince Apple site. Not one to leave well enough alone, I toasted some of the ingredients, added chocolate chips to make up for the fact our sink is still leaking — but that’s another story — and mixed in some brown rice syrup. The results are not-too-sweet and very tasty.

The instructions that came with my Red Princes said the dried apples should have the consistency of raisins, but a few at the edges crisped until crunchy and brown — and they were delicious. Are apple chips next?

Anyone else cook with dried apples or make apple chips? Winter is long here and I’d love to hear some new apple ideas.

Dried Apple Breakfast Bars

Makes 16 pieces

Ingredients

  • 3 large Red Prince apples, skin on, cored and diced into 1/4-inch cubes
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup sesame seeds
  • 1/3 cup flax seeds
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup chopped almonds
  • 3/4 cup puffed millet
  • 1/2 cup dates, chopped
  • 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or raisins if you don’t want chocolate for breakfast)
  • 1/2 cup almond butter (or any nut butter)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup brown rice syrup
  1. Preheat the oven to 275F.
  2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and spread the apples evenly on the sheet. Bake for 90 minutes or until apples have the texture of raisins. (If you have a food dehydrator, follow the manufacturer’s directions.) Remove from oven and let cool.
  3. Increase oven temperature to 350F.
  4. Combine oats, sesame seeds, flax, pumpkin seeds and almonds. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 or until the almonds begin to smell fragrant. Let cool.
  5. In a large bowl, combine toasted ingredients, puffed millet, dates, raisins (if using) and almond butter. Mix well. You might have to use your hands.
  6. Whisk the brown rice syrup and vanilla together in a small pot. Bring to a boil and cook until thick.
  7. Add to oat mixture and combine thoroughly. The mixture should form a ball when pressed together.
  8. Stir in dried apples and chocolate chips (if using).
  9. Line a 9 X 13 pan with foil and press the breakfast bar mixture in firmly.
  10. Refrigerate an hour. Slice into bars.

No Comments
  • Andrea Karpala
    Posted at 09:19h, 24 February

    Charmian your Dried Apple Breakfast Bars look yummy! I love how you added the chocolate chips, there can never be enough chocolate 🙂

    You can find delicious Red Prince apple snack ideas by visiting http://www.redprinceapple.ca.

    Enjoy 🙂 Andrea

  • Susan Hoffman
    Posted at 10:48h, 24 February

    Check out some Old Order Mennonite cookbooks. Dried apples or “schnitz” (Pennslyvania German phrase) are a popular ingredient in their baking etc. You might have to modify the recipes since they aren’t too concerned about calories etc.

  • Frugal Kiwi
    Posted at 13:02h, 24 February

    These look fantastic. Like you I can be a bit remiss on the breakfast front. So much of Western breakfast is wheat-based and I have to stay away from glutens. I should probably eat more millet anyway!
    .-= Frugal Kiwi´s last blog ..Would you survive as a pioneer? =-.

  • The Diva on a Diet
    Posted at 17:20h, 24 February

    Charmian, I’m about ready to take a bite out of my screen … these bars look wonderful! They’d be a big hit with Bill too – who, like yourself, has trouble eating in the morning. I need to set aside time to make this for him … soon!

  • Cheryl@5secondrule
    Posted at 22:02h, 24 February

    Funny, I have a dehydrator setting on my oven, and I haven’t used it once. I wonder if it maintains the 275 degree temperature called for in your recipe. Only one way to find out…!
    .-= Cheryl@5secondrule´s last blog ..Concierge =-.

  • Lori Desormeaux
    Posted at 20:42h, 25 February

    I am desperate for a crisp ,hard ,sweet apple!! wondering where you got them? market?
    thanks

  • Kerry
    Posted at 14:17h, 26 February

    going have to make this — although it may take me several tries to get past eating the dried apples before they make it into the recipe.

    we make oven baked frech fries/chips (with potatoes) and have on occasion treated apples the same way, cut into long strips and baked until either soft or crisp, according to taste. really nice, and good on their own as well as for dipping in all sorts of sauces, from sweet to savory.
    .-= Kerry´s last blog ..Carrie Newcomer: Before & After =-.

  • Charmian Christie
    Posted at 17:10h, 26 February

    Oven-fried apple chips? That sounds amazing. Do you spice them when baking or just leave them as is so you can dip according to taste? This sounds really intriguing! Thanks for sharing this idea.

  • Charmian Christie
    Posted at 15:57h, 27 February

    @Lori Desormeaux, sorry I missed your comment. Just saw it now.

    Red Prince apples are available in Ontario at Sobey’s, Loblaw (Back to Best Stores) and Longo’s. If you can’t find them, Honeycrisps are excellent hard, sweet apples and sold everywhere.

    Of course, if you shop at the Farmers’ Market the grower can guide you to what’s best right now with their particular varieties. Happy apple eating!

  • Sophie
    Posted at 06:27h, 28 February

    Georgous & ooh so tasty breakfast bars!!
    MMMMMM,…lovely too!

  • Charmian Christie
    Posted at 15:13h, 02 March

    @Andrea Karpala, Thanks Andrea. These bars were addictive and the entire 16-bar pan was gone in only a few days. There are just two of us here, so doing the math… well, let’s just say I’m embarrassed at how much I ate.

  • Charmian Christie
    Posted at 15:14h, 02 March

    @Susan Hoffman, good point. Dried apples are an old technique.

    And they didn’t worry about calories because they worked off every bite. Can’t say the same about my lifestyle…

  • Charmian Christie
    Posted at 15:18h, 02 March

    @Frugal Kiwi, this is gluten-free. The millet is unremarkable but is a great carrier for this sort of bar. I have another breakfast bar recipes that’s gluten-free. It’s a riff on the Starbucks’ oat and fruit bars.

    http://christiescorner.com/2009/05/04/homemade-version-of-starbucks-oat-and-fruit-bars/

    No dried apples, but I see no reason you can’t improvise. Good luck with your gluten-free breakfast hunt.

  • Charmian Christie
    Posted at 15:20h, 02 March

    @The Diva on a Diet, I knew I liked Bill for a reason. He’d never lecture me about breakfast being the most important meal of the day.

    Hope he likes these. They’re portable, so you can take them to the office.

  • Charmian Christie
    Posted at 15:21h, 02 March

    @Cheryl@5secondrule, your oven comes with a dehydrator setting? Really? I had no idea this was an option. Wow. I learned something.

    My klunky old oven did a great job on these, so I can only imagine what a stellar job yours would do. Let me know how it works out if you decide to try this!

  • Charmian Christie
    Posted at 15:23h, 02 March

    @Sophie, Thanks! I was very pleased they worked out. Can’t say the same for my kale soup, but you can’t win them all.

  • Eva
    Posted at 21:51h, 02 March

    These look delicious and I just made a batch! I’m wondering if you have an estimated measurement for the amount of dried apple in the recipe? I used smaller apples and wasn’t sure how they translated into 3 large.

  • Charmian Christie
    Posted at 12:55h, 03 March

    @Eva, I didn’t measure the apples before dehydrating, but if memory serves they provided a good 3 cups of juicy apple pieces. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.

    I’d guess 4 small would do the job. I know this doesn’t help you but next time I dry apples, I’ll measure before and after.

    Hope you were happy with your results!

  • Tia @ ButtercreamBarbie
    Posted at 02:30h, 13 March

    i could use my food dehydrator for this! upir bars look perfect.
    .-= Tia @ ButtercreamBarbie´s last blog ..Apricot Orange Yeasted Coffee Cake =-.