These apple squares owe their creation to a recipe titled very simple tart, a diet recipe (vegan, with wholemeal flour, without yeast, with pureed apples) that I’ve kept on a printed sheet for about 35 years.

About 35 years ago, I had a friend who worked at a dietary center and, knowing my passion for cooking, she shared some recipes with me, copying them from those provided to clients/patients (I never knew if she was allowed to do so, but now after three decades, I trust the alleged ‘crime’ is prescribed 🤭).

They are all very simple recipes, suitable for everyday meals and accompanied by calorie calculations, recipes that have somehow been useful to me over the years. Sometimes I consulted them for inspiration, to find some extra ideas when cooking. And the very simple tart is one of those recipes, it not infrequently gave me the right inspiration when reading it made me say: “great idea, today I’ll make a vegan tart!”, or: “great idea, today I’ll make a wholemeal tart!”. And even without ever replicating it exactly, I was quite happy that way.

Now.
The difference between taking inspiration and replicating exactly a recipe… well, sometimes it can make a difference! 😃 A few days ago, for the first time, I replicated it exactly. With results, um, how to define them… Disappointing? Unfair? Below expectations? In short… nobody liked it! Not even Flavia, notoriously a lover of all kinds of desserts, who, as her first comment after the first bite, decreed: change the recipe for Monday, it’s better! 😂

Oh, I’ve made vegan crusts, and I’ve made wholemeal crusts, yet I believe I’ve never eaten a shoe sole like this. And I can’t understand how I considered it valid and kept it for decades among the recipes in my library.

And nothing, in the end, I went back to using it as I always did, using it as inspiration to make these apple squares, which have only one ingredient copied from the recipe: the apples. But the recipe was still extremely useful because the result was excellent!

Moral: diet recipes are definitely always good, as long as they are also tasty! 😃 I know, this joke can only be understood by those who know our Light and Tasty column, but you all know it, right? And then… come on, it’s not such a bad joke (right? 😃).

PS: one day or another, I’ll give the very simple tart a second chance. Reflecting on it, I don’t exclude that part of the blame was the wholemeal flour I used, and these are doubts that will have to be resolved sooner or later! 💪

〰 〰 〰

Here are the apple squares with oat flake crust, my Light and Tasty recipe dedicated to the queen of fruits, the apple. 🍎🍏
Remember that my apple recipes are all included in the Apple Recipe Collection, which I invite you to consult, while below, I preview three not bad little recipes that I recommend you try right away! 😋👇