Return of the baking itch

Hey guys!

First things first - I have to show you my breakfast this morning (and for the next two days, since I bulk-made three of them):

That hideous, leprechaun-esque thing is my breakfast cookie, which I mistakenly added way too much spirulina to. I tried to scoop some of it out before I added the wet ingredients, but the damage had been done. My family is used to seeing me eat disgusting-looking health food, but this particular monstrosity is a stretch, even for me. It was actually delicious, but I stuffed it in my face at top speed and prayed no one would walk into the break room and spot me eating it. Lest I be the laughing stock of the entire company. 

Now onto something a lot more appetizing - I've got a recipe for ya! My latest baking creation: the apple raspberry crumble. 

When I was in high school, I had a real thing for baking. I took a bunch of cake decorating classes and used to bake things at night and take them into my homeroom the next morning. I haven't been crazy about baking in a while, but last night I had the urge, and I rolled with it. 

This particular recipe is a little healthier than the stuff I used to make in high school. Don't get me wrong - I do not think desserts have to be healthy. That's kind of not the point of dessert (I don't ever need to see a whole wheat cannoli, for example). But since this was just a random Monday and no special occasion, I added almond meal and subbed coconut oil for butter - both excellent sources of healthy fats. 

I combined 2 cups oats, 1 cup almond meal and 1/2 cup brown sugar, plus cinnamon, sea salt and vanilla in a bowl,

mixed in about 1/2 cup coconut oil, and pressed half of it into the bottom of an 8x8 pan.

Then I washed, peeled, cored and chopped three of our apples, and layered them on top of the crumble. 

I remembered the raspberries we had also picked, and I wondered if they would be a good addition, or if it would seem like too much. I considered this for about one second before dumping the berries on top.

I wish I could say these were the berries we picked, but no. Those berries were eaten within a day. These berries are frozen from Joe's, and still delicious. I packed the remaining crumble on top and popped it in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes.

The finished product:

As I'm sure you can imagine, 24 hours later and it's almost gone. Why did I use the 8x8 pan instead of the 9x13?! ("There are only two of us" - what a rookie baking mistake).

That's all for now. I'm already planning my next apple recipe. I'm thinking muffins. 

xo