Vegan Apple Pie Squares With Brittany Mullins Of Eating Bird Food
Vegan Apple Pie Squares With Brittany Mullins Of Eating Bird Food
There’s nothing quite so quintessentially ‘fall’ as a trip to an apple orchard followed by an evening spent in a hearth-warmed kitchen, baking those apples into something sweet, comforting, and delicious. While in Richmond, we had the opportunity to do just that, accompanied by one of our favorite bloggers, Brittany of the blog Eating Bird Food. Full of energy and passion for her craft, Brittany is one of those people who brings joy to all they do… and she does a lot: she’s a blogger, a health coach, and a personal trainer. She’s also on FP Me and spent the day with us at Graves Mountain just outside of Richmond, gathering apples with other FP Me users on the kind of fall day that is written about often, but rarely experienced.
But these apples weren’t just for show, you see, they had along journey ahead of them. The following day, we convened with Brittany and two other FP Me users, Alyssa and Terisa, at Brittany’s Richmond home for an afternoon of baking. Watch the video below to see Brittany transform those autumn apples into the vegan apple pie squares later served at our in-store event, and be sure to try out the recipe yourself!
Vegan Apple Pie Squares
Ingredients:
Yield 12 squares
Apple Filling:
4 big apples, cored and chopped into small chunks
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Oatmeal Crust:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 ½ cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
½ cup coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 Tablespoons water
½ cup coconut sugar
3 Tablespoons almond milk
1 Tablespoon coconut sugar (for topping)
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a square baking dish (8×8 or 9×9 will work) with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with the 3 tablespoons of water and let sit while you start preparing the other ingredients.
2. Heat all ingredients for the apple filling in a small pan over low heat for about 7-10 minutes or until the apples start to soften up and the mixture thickens.
3. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl; add oats and coconut sugar.
4. Mix together coconut oil, flaxseed egg and almond milk in a separate bowl and then pour it into the dry ingredients, stirring well to combine.
5. Press all but about 1/3 cup of the oat mixture into the prepared baking pan. Use your hands or a spatula to really press down the mixture and smooth it out.
6. Spread apple filling mixture over oat layer. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture (about 1/3 cup) over apple filling layer, then sprinkle on the remaining 1 Tablespoon coconut sugar.
7. Bake in the preheated oven until oat mixture on top is crisp and lightly browned, about 30 minutes.
8. Allow to fully cool completely (about 30 minutes) before gently removing from pan by lifting up on the parchment paper. Enjoy right away or place in the fridge to get the squares to firm up a bit before cutting.
9. Once cut into squares, store the bars in the fridge (or freezer). Serve cold as a snack or heat up and serve warm with a dollop of ice cream, whipped cream or yogurt for dessert.
More coverage of our trip to Richmond.