Cooking With Envy Apples at the Central Maket Cooking School...Featuring Envy Apple & Blueberry Baked Oatmeal #BiteandBelieve #CookingWithEnvy #AnEnvyAppleADay #centralmarket

Last week, I attended the educational and delicious An Envy Apple a Day cooking class at San Antonio's Central Market Cooking School location. During the two-hour class, we learned how to use versatile Envy™ apples in delicious breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert recipes. We watched a trio of informative, friendly Cooking School chefs create each recipe step-by-step, received lots of handy cooking tips, and then tasted full servings of every recipe cooked. Before this class, I had never heard of Envy™ apples...but after? I'm a huge fan of this unique and delicious apple...there's a lot to love!

Envy™ is currently one of the hottest apples on the market. They're a cross between Braeburn and Royal Gala apple varieties. The flavor of Envy™ apples is crispy and sweetly tart, and they hold their shape very nicely when cooked. My favorite feature of the Envy™ apples is that it has a higher citric -- which prevents the browning enzyme from activating. The end result is that Envy™ apples are VERY slow to brown. This feature makes them ideal for adding to salads, charcuterie boards, and fruit platter...they will look great for hours! An Envy™ apple that was cut in half at the start of my cooking class still looked freshly cut when the class wrapped up 2 hours later. Very impressive! Envy™ apples are non GMO and grown naturally in Washington State and New Zealand.

As the video shows, Central Market Cooking School chefs prepared an entire day's worth of recipes featuring Envy™ apples. We also learned which white and red wines pair best with sweetly tart, crisp Envy™ apples! Recipes demonstrated in our cooking class were:

• Envy Apple & Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
• Envy Apple, Arugula, Fennel & Roasted Walnut Salad
• Butternut Squash & Envy Apple Soup with Sage
• Sheet Pan Roasted, Fennel-Crusted Pork Loin with Envy Apples & Onion
• Roasted Envy Apple & Pear Compote with Candied Ginger

All of the recipes were delicious, but I especially enjoyed the simple-to-make baked oatmeal breakfast recipe. It takes minutes to prep, and it makes a perfect comforting breakfast on chilly mornings!

Envy Apple & Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

Recipe from Central Market Cooking School via Epicurious

Ingredients (makes 6 servings):

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1.5 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. fine-grain salt
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 cups milk
• 1 large egg
• 1.5 tbs. unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly -- plus more to butter the pan
• 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste [NOTE: can use vanilla extract]
• 1 large Envy™ apple, washed and roughly chopped
• 6 ounces blueberries

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375°. Butter the inside of a square 8x8 baking dish. In a bowl, combine the oats, half of the walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla. Spread the chopped Envy™ apple over the bottom of the buttered baking dish. Top with the oat mixture; drizzle the liquid mixture over the oats. Scatter the remaining walnuts and the blueberries on top.

Step 2: Bake the oatmeal for 35-45 minutes, until the top is golden and the oats are set. Let cool for a few minutes before serving. To serve, spoon the baked oatmeal into deep bowls. Optional: serve with warm maple syrup on the side.

This hearty baked oatmeal is a perfect breakfast on chilly mornings -- it's creamy and comforting, with crunchy nuts, warm cinnamon spice, and fruit in every bite. The chopped Envy™ apple held its shape perfectly and wasn't at all mushy...and the tart punch of blueberry was a perfect flavor partner! Don't have blueberries on hand? No problem! Blackberries or cranberries would work nicely here too.

I hope that you'll look for yummy Envy™apples at a grocery store near you and give them a try for your snacks and recipes. Once you do, you'll definitely Bite & Believe as much as I do! Then, you can make this delicious baked oatmeal recipe in your kitchen. I certainly can't wait to make the fruity, comforting breakfast again this weekend. To get even more great recipes featuring versatile Envy™ apples, be sure t0 visit the Recipe page at the Envy™ apples website. You'll find tons of great apple-centric recipes for breakfast, beverages, snack time, main dishes, salads and side dishes, desserts...and more!

Disclosure: Envy™ Apples paid for to attend the cooking class at the San Antonio Central Market Cooking School location. They also provided compensation for my participation. All opinions stated are solely my own.

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