Last month, I organized my family’s 5th annual Fall Fun Day! I can hardly believe the tradition’s been going on so long. Fall Fun Day started back in 2016 as my 18th birthday celebration. I had a day off of school a few days before I turned 18 and wanted to spend it doing every fun fall activity from my childhood. Five years later, we’re still going strong and I’m already anticipating next year!
With me as a food blogger, a critical component to FFD is the menu. I spent much of the day before in the kitchen making tons of fall recipes. Here’s a list of what was on the menu!
Fall Fun Day 2020 Menu
Homemade French Bread
Apple Oat Crumble Bars
Activities for the Day
The day started out windy and cold, but we met at the Dane County Farmer’s Market to pick up some staples like baking pumpkins, fresh cranberries, and of course, squeaky Wisconsin cheese curds. From there, we drove to Sutter’s Ridge Ridge Farm for apple picking. Usually at this time of year, there isn’t much left to pick, but we found a huge selection of golden delicious apples still on the trees!
The farm has a lot of other activities such as a pumpkin patch, animals, and play areas for kids. There’s also a small shop inside with fresh apple cider donuts (which I hear are amazing) as well as Lauren’s favorite–the caramel apples.
The next stop was just down the road to Donald County Park. By this time, the sun was coming out and the wind had died down. It was perfect for our hike and picnic. From there, we went north to Treinan Farm for an intensely intricate corn maze. We did manage to get out and found all the bonuses hidden within the maze!
After the maze, we ventured back to my parents house to carve some pumpkins before our lasagna dinner. Then we closed out the day with a bon fire, so I made some homemade graham crackers and peanut butter cups. The homemade marshmallows I tried were a flop, but conventional ones always work best for roasting anyway and were quite delicious paired with the rich, buttery graham crackers. I don’t have recipes posted for these yet, but the peanut butter cups were based on my Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffles.
Apple Oat Crumble Bars
Of the many treats we enjoyed during Fall Fun Day, Apple Oat Crumble Bars are a new one, so I wanted to share the recipe! They’re similar to my Refined-Sugar Free Date Bars and Rhubarb Oat Crumble Bars except with a spicy fall twist! The top and bottom crust are a blend of oats, flour, butter, sugar, and cinnamon with spiced apples inside. These bars are rich and gooey with a fresh fruit filling, making them perfect for a day filled with fall activities. Enjoy them warm for a cozy treat by the fireplace!
Apple Oat Crumble Bars
Ingredients
Oat Crumble
- 2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup sucanat
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp Celtic sea salt
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 8 oz butter (chilled)
Apple Filling
- 2 lbs baking apples (peeled and chopped)
- 4 tsp arrowroot starch
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup sucanat
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- â…› tsp ginger
- â…› tsp cloves
- Pinch nutmeg
Instructions
Oat Crumble
- Place the oats in a food processor and blend until they form a coarse flour.
- Add the oats in a large bowl along with the flour, sucanat, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.
- Use a cheese grater to grate the cold butter into the dry ingredients. Then, use a pastry blender or your hands to work the butter into the mixture. Continue working the dough until the butter is dispersed in pea-sized pieces.
- Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper and press â…” of the crumble mixture into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
Apple Filling
- In a small saucepan, add the apples, arrowroot starch, water, butter, sucanat, and spices.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat. Then reduce heat to medium low and simmer until the apples are soft and the mixture has thickened.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°.
- When the filling is ready, spread it over the oat crumble base in the baking dish.
- Disperse the remaining oat crumble over the top.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes until the topping begins to brown slightly.
- Let cool completely before slicing. Store in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving for maximum flavor.
