Layered Maple Oat n’ Apple Dessert Jars

Before we get to this drool-worthy recipe… guess what? Today is my 25^th birthday!

To be honest though, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to the big 2-5.

In preparation for the big day…

I decided to look back over the last 6 years to remind myself of what I’ve accomplished,

I ran my first 10km race 2 days before my birthday,

And; as a present to myself, I signed up for an all day outdoor rock climbing course in Kananaskis!

This won’t be the exact mountain range, but look at how beautiful this place is.

I <3 Alberta.

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I couldn’t be more excited for the July class! Yes it’s a bit far off, but it’ll be well worth the wait!

The best of birthday preparations was the dessert I made over the weekend.

I’m not sure if it’s a dessert or a breakfast. Either way, it’s delicious.

There’s something so healing in making a dessert for yourself, no? It was the only thing I made over the weekend, so I really took my time with it.

Gifts made for you, by you, are quite special. If you haven’t done it for yourself, I urge you to give it a whirl!

I could have sworn we had a set of candles in the house, but when it came time for the pictures, you better believe those candles were nowhere in sight.

Would you leave your house at 10am on a Saturday to search for candles when these babies were sitting right in front of you?

I didn’t think so.

Just pretend that there’s a candle, kay?

And while we’re pretending, let’s keep it at 21 candles. No need wasting the other 4, right?

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Layered Maple Oat n’ Apple Dessert Jars

Vegan, Gluten free, Dairy free, Refined sugar free, Yeast free, Corn free

Maple and toasted walnut cookie, layered with dates, maple almond butter, and shelled flax.

Ingredients

Maple Flax

• 1/2 cup flax seed
• 1 tbsp maple syrup

Apple Crumble Cookie

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup coconut/palm sugar
• 1 chia egg [2 tsp ground chia seed + 3 tbsp water]
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 pinch white stevia powder
• 1/2 granny smith apple, diced fine
• 1/2 cup walnuts, roasted

Dates

• 8 medjool dates, pitted and halved [2 dates/jar]

Maple Mystery Butter

• 1/4 cup maple mystery butter

• 4 random jars
• 1 tbsp coconut oil for greasing jars

Directions

To make maple flax: place flax seed in a Ziploc bag and place on the cutting board. Take a flat object [the bottom of a saucepan works nice] and hit the bag a couple of times until the germ separates from the shell for many of the seeds. Place shelled flax seeds in a small bowl and combine with maple syrup. Set aside

To make apple crumble cookie: preheat oven to 170F and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicon baking mat. Place walnuts on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes, stirring once half way through. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Then, combine ground flax + water in a small bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, beat coconut oil and sugar. Add flax egg, vanilla extract, and stevia and mix well. Pour wet into dry and stir to combine before adding apple, chopped walnuts. Set aside.

Making the magic happen: preheat oven to 350F and fill a 9×9 square inch pan with 1 inch of water. Set aside. Place a dab of coconut oil in each of your jars and place them in the microwave for 30 seconds [or until oil is melted]. Remove from microwave and use fingers to oil the inside of the jar. Place 2-3 tbsp of cookie mixture at the bottom, followed by 2 dates, then 1 tbsp mystery butter, followed by another 2-3 tbsp of cookie mixture. Top it all off with your maple flax and place in prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until you see the cookie layer pull away from the glass. Remove from oven and take jars out of water bath. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before diving in!

Makes ~4 jars, depending on what size jars you use.

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They looked so good just sitting there unbaked. I managed to steal a bit of batter before I popped them in the oven.

Another one of those foil walls. This will never get old.

Next time I think I’ll use 125mL mason jars only. The larger jars were nice, but a bit too much dessert in one go.

Did I just say it was too much dessert?

Ugh… I’m getting old.

Happy birthday to me.

nom nom nom

Stay tuned later this week for my birthday goals post. Since I was little, I’ve treated my birthday as others treat the New Year. I set goals for the upcoming year, reflected on accomplishments, and thank myself for continuing on my journey.

Have you made yourself something special on one of your birthdays? If so, what was it?

When is your birthday?

Do you remember blowing out candles and wishing for something as a kid?

I had the same wish for many years, to meet the Backstreet Boys. Alas, it never happened.

Tagged as: apple, cookie in a jar, jar dessert, layered jar, maple, maple butter, maple syrup, oatmeal