We moved into our house the spring before our first son was born. Both the tree in the front and the one in the back were bare and twiggy. A few months later, each tree had sprouted blossoms — pink in the back, white in the front. In the summer, those blooms produced tiny apples. Not having been informed by the previous owner, we had no idea what to expect.

By the time the baby arrived in July, the branches were heavy with fruit. But the newborn was colicky, crying for long periods and sleeping for short periods, usually only in someone's arms. My husband and I slogged through those hazy first months, not noticing that the lawn had grown knee-deep or that the apples on the front tree were golden ripe.

Luckily, the next door neighbor did notice. Kristen knocked on our door one day, asking if we wouldn't mind if she picked some apples.

"Oh yes, go ahead," I nodded, turning my bleary eyes toward the tree to notice that indeed it was full of fruit.

Even luckier for us, Kristen turned out to be an instructor at a local cooking school — and generous, to boot. Not only did she harvest the apples from our tree, a few days later she returned to our doorstep. This time, bearing gifts: containers full of homemade applesauce.

The baby grew out of his colickiness, but for the next two years we shared our apples with Kristen. She returned the favor through homemade muffins, pies and crisps.

But the third year, we started to notice changes next door: a new coat of paint, old shrubs torn out and replaced with cheerful annuals. They indicated the inevitable — Kristen and her husband were moving.

Granted, they settled into a new home across town, and we still see each other for the occasional lunch or dinner. Yet it's just not the same as living next door. But life keeps moving on. The baby that needed to be rocked to sleep is now a third grader tasked with picking up windfall apples. The red delicious tree in our backyard was the victim of a landscaping project a few years ago. And this fall, I noticed our golden delicious tree bore only a fraction of the fruit it usually produces —  a sign of twilight I recognize from the apricot tree of my childhood.

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I've created Caramel Apple Oatmeal Bars, to combine some of my favorite flavors of fall, into a neat little package. The recipe makes a lot, so be sure to share with a neighbor.

Ingredients

Crust:

1 c. flour (white whole wheat if you want to make it "healthy")

1 c. oatmeal

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. butter

Caramel layer:

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp. vanilla

Apple layer:

3-4 medium apples (Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Jonathan or Granny Smith work well)

2 Tbs. sugar

3 Tbs. water

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1 tsp. cinnamon or apple pie spice

Crumb Topping: 

1 c. flour

1 c. oatmeal

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions 

Apples

Peel and core apples, chop into 1/2 inch dice. In a medium saucepan, combine apples, sugar, lemon juice and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer until apples are tender. Set aside. 

Crust

Mix flour, oatmeal, sugar and baking soda. Cut in butter to make coarse crumbs. Press this mixture into a greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Caramel

Heat condensed milk in heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until bubbly. Reduce heat and stir for 5 minutes more. Add vanilla. The mixture will thicken and turn light golden brown.

Topping

Mix flour, oatmeal and sugar. Cut in butter to make coarse crumbs.

Assembly:

Pour the caramel mixture over the baked crust. Spoon the apples over that layer, being careful not the mash it all together and make a big mess. Gently squeeze the topping mixture in your hands to make clusters and drop them over the apple mixture. Press down lightly, again being careful not to smash the lower layers. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and a little coarse sea salt.

Bake for 20 minutes more at 350 degrees, until lightly browned on the edges.

Cool in the pan and cut into bars.

Share some with your neighbors!

All photos and text © 2010 Grace Hwang Lynch