Ann Michael Maye has baked her way into Patriots fans’ hearts. But are her apple cinnamon bars worth the hype?
Food
The finished product: apple cinnamon oat crumble bars made using Ann Michael Maye’s recipe. Nicole Yang
updated on December 11, 2025
4 minutes to read
Ahead of the Patriots’ trip to Tennessee in Week 7, quarterback Drake Maye hosted the offensive line at his home for dinner. The line, which gathers together for dinner almost every Thursday, enjoyed a delicious meal (and performance) by a Hibachi chef.
But the real star of the show was the dessert: apple cinnamon oat crumble bars baked from scratch by Maye’s wife, Ann Michael.
As the Patriots continue to rise as one of the hottest teams in the NFL, the 22-year-old Ann Michael has emerged as a social media sensation for her baking. She often posts videos of her creations, from homemade focaccia using her sourdough starter to a spiced apple cider donut loaf to iced pistachio bread to lemon raspberry cookies.
Plenty of Patriots fans have embraced her content, spamming the comment sections with overwhelming support.
“You read recipes the way Drake reads defenses,” one user wrote. “Perfect couple.”
“Thanks for keeping our king healthy and fed,” wrote another.
So, when Ann Michael shared the recipe for her now-famous apple cinnamon oat crumble bars, I decided to give them a try myself. As someone who loves baking (and eating) confections, how could I not? After all, center Garrett Bradbury called them “phenomenal.”
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye kisses Ann Michael Maye prior to the start of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Foxborough. – Greg M. Cooper
Most of the ingredients were items already in my kitchen — flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, butter, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and a lemon — though I did have to stop by Wegman’s to pick up three medium-size apples and a canister of Kodiak protein oats. I’m sure you could substitute classic rolled oats, but I wanted to follow Ann Michael’s recipe as is.
The first step is making the bottom oat layer that will serve as the base for the bars. In a bowl, I mixed together 1½ cup of the oats, 1 cup of flour, ¾ cup of brown sugar, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and ½ cup of melted butter.
I stirred everything together with a small spatula before pouring the mixture into a 9-inch square pan. Then, using my spatula, I packed the oats evenly across the bottom of the pan.
The base layer of oats, brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, and salt. – Nicole Yang
Next up: the apple filling. Ann Michael didn’t specify what type of apples she used, so I diced one Granny Smith, one Gala, and one Honeycrisp because she appeared to use a variety. I tossed the cubes into the same bowl I used for the oats — in an effort to minimize the number of dirty dishes — and added 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.
After ensuring all of the apples were coated, I poured them over the packed-down oat layer. At this point, knowing that I still had to fit the top layer of the crumble, I became a little concerned about overloading my pan. But In Ann Michael We Trust.
The apple layer, uncooked. – Nicole Yang
I mixed together the same aforementioned ingredients to create a second oat layer and then poured that mixture over the apple filling, evenly spreading it across the top.
“We want to really press down, so it’s going to be firm and not too crumbly,” Ann Michael says in her video. “Because we don’t want these bars to fall apart as soon as someone picks them up.”
Everything managed to fit, so into the oven the pan went. I baked the bars as Ann Michael advised — 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees — but would consider upping the temperature to 400 next time to brown the top a little bit more.
The dessert was still delightful, a reminder of the joys of fall. The apple filling had a fresh fruit flavor without overpowering sweetness. The extra protein in the oats didn’t seem to affect the taste of the crumble. Although the bars held their shape when cut, they were served best with a fork — or spoon, if you’d like to enjoy them à la mode.
Ann Michael acknowledged she specifically likes her bars to be thick, but you could probably modify the ratio to your liking. You could also easily turn the dessert into a crisp by removing the bottom oat layer and increasing the amount of apple filling.
The finished product. – Nicole Yang
The prep process took me about 30 minutes, so the recipe is fairly quick and easy. It’s a fun one to add to the rotation next fall, especially after an afternoon at an apple orchard. The fact that the recipe is from the wife of the Patriots quarterback is an engaging conversation starter.
My bars didn’t last long, as I made them on Thanksgiving to share with family and friends. The overall consensus was a thumbs-up. My boyfriend even ate one cold, topped with some plain yogurt, for breakfast on Friday.
If anything, the experience was a heartwarming glimpse inside the life of Ann Michael, who moved to Massachusetts in July after graduating from the University of North Carolina in May and marrying Maye, her middle school sweetheart, in June.
Her love for baking is obvious, evidenced by the sheer frequency of her baking videos. Her face lights up when she cuts into her jalapeño cheddar sourdough loaves and beams with satisfaction when she samples the dough of her white chocolate oatmeal cranberry cookies. Such reactions just make me want to bake, too.
On Monday, Ann Michael launched her own monthlong challenge called “Bakemas,” where she bakes a new goodie every day of December until Christmas. Her first treat was chocolate chip cookies with red, white, and blue M&Ms to celebrate the Patriots-Giants game.
If and when another one of her recipes makes waves, I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to give it a try.
