I’m blaming the succession* of crumble recipes on this blog for the arrival of autumn and a strong urge to cosy up warm with comfort food. The dish itself does the job for a dinner party or even as a single serving. However, I’m powerless to resist topping a classic crumble with a scoop of ice cream, so in the interests of some semblance of health, I’ve been making these ‘breakfast’ style baked goods (and then eating them for dessert).

*Succession meaning two in as many weeks which, when you live with one other person, is a fair amount of crumbly goods to be getting through.

The ‘breakfast’ recipe in question comes from Megan’s gorgeous Whole Grain Mornings, a whole book dedicated to the meals that start your day. I posted these Popped Amaranth Parfaits a while back and the book remains a constant inspiration when I’m looking for new ways with grains or breakfast-for-dinner type meals. There’s nothing especially revolutionary about a crumble bar, but Megan’s combination of flakes, flour and nutty additions makes for a pretty perfect mouthful.

I’ve made the recipe before as it stands in the book, with blueberries and rye flakes and sesame seeds. They’re delicious, but in the interest of freezing the last of the summer fruits to brighten up those short winter days to come, I’ve substituted apples and blackberries here, the filling just that little bit more tart against the subtley sweet crust and crumble.

If you’re in the market for the real deal, there’s a recipe for Blueberry, Almond and Plum Crumble in my cookbook, Homemade Memories (the lovely Sarah and Lia have both posted the recipe on their blogs). Otherwise dust down those work surfaces and make these lovely little bars, the perfect mid-week treat.