I know it's kind of a weird time of year to be posting an apple recipe but trust me, if you could see the rain we're getting today you would understand. I can't even think about lemons or rhubarb right now. We are not getting a light sprinkle of spring rain. We are getting drenched. We're in need of comfort food to warm the bones so apples it is!

This recipe is based on these apple blondies. I bet the crumbly cheddar cheese topping from this apple pie would also work, in place of my oat topping.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced (my pieces were approximately chickpea-sized)

Topping

1/4 cup cold butter
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease 9x13-inch baking pan.

In large mixing bowl, combine melted butter, sugars, vanilla, and eggs. Stir in dry ingredients (you could sift the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl before mixing into the butter mixture but that requires time, energy, and dirtying another bowl). Batter will be quite thick.

Gently stir in apples and press mixture into the bottom of prepared pan.

In dirty mixing bowl (look, I don't have time for perfection right now, okay?), combine topping ingredients with pastry cutter, two knives, or your fingers, until butter is incorporated and you're left with pea-sized crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over batter and lightly press into the surface.

Bake in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Enjoy with a cup of tea and the knowledge that spring has to show up at some point. Stay warm, friends.