Simple Baked Apples with California Strawberry Oat Filling

This post was sponsored by the California Strawberry Commission. Seriously my kids favourite bedtime snack since Day 1.

I know a lot of people say their fave season is fall and I’m right there with them. And really, what’s not to like?

Weather is still nice with cool nights for awesome sleeping temps; chunky sweaters; cute boots; PSLs (pumpkin spice lattes); Halloween..it’s a lot of good stuff🙂

And of course, a huge part of the fall season…back to school time. Which brings me to one my favourite foods for post-school snacking: strawberries!

California strawberries are a tasty, healthy, convenient snack, literally any time of day. They’re always around my house (and in my kids tummies.)

Usually on Sundays when I do some food prep, I’ll wash and core a whole bunch of them so they’re in the fridge and ready to go whenever we need them – after school, mid-afternoon or as part of bedtime “snack plates” for the kids.

And now that I’m back to making school lunches day in and day out, California strawberries are one of my go-to fruits for the kids lunch.

I also love putting strawberries into other recipes and today, I’ve got a delicious example for you: my Simple Baked Apples with California Strawberry Oat Filling!

These little guys pack quite the yum-yum punch.

Baked apples always intrigued me but not being the best cook on the block, I wasn’t sure if they’d turn out or if anyone would even try them (let alone like them.)

Thankfully, these got the “this is the best baked apple I’ve ever had” approval from hubby.

(I’m not sure what the count is on how many varieties of baked apples he’s had but I’ll take it.)

Many recipes for baked apples are simply the brown sugar so if you want even simpler than mine, go with that.

The oats in this Baked Apple really give it some nice fibre and make this dish almost like a mini apple and strawberry crisp!

I kept the “hats” for mostly picture taking so you don’t have to keep those on but maybe your kids will get a kick out of it too.

Or if you’re serving these for a get together this fall, keeping the “hats” offers a nice presentation touch (“oooh, you fancy!” your guests will say.)

Bottom line: a simple, healthy recipe “dessert” that you can throw in the oven and forget about it while you eat supper.

And forget about it quickly enough is great because your preschooler will start to loudly protest that the green beans are actually on his plate (again.)

These were a hit in my house and I hope they are in yours too 🙂