Nomtastic: Autumn Apple Bars

It is officially fall; neither the calendar nor the weather can deny it any longer. Apples and pumpkins seem to be the stars of the show lately, so I decided to showcase a delicious recipe that is perfect for cold fall days where you need to spend a few hours inside. 

The first time I made this I decided it’s a handheld form of apple pie but with more crust. The crust is my favorite part of apple pie so for me this is a win-win. It’s the perfect crust:filling ratio AND IT FITS IN YOUR HAND! Oh, and if that wasn’t enough; they taste exactly like McDonalds apple pies without being fried.

This recipe almost led to an emergency room visit, but I rallied to share it with you all. After a run in with my best kitchen knife and the ring finger on my right hand, I had to draft my husband into finishing the mess I started- which I do more often that I’d care to admit, but I digress.

*Side note/Disclaimer:  I have just taken a heavy painkiller because the pain in my finger - you know the one I almost cut off? - has now reached such a level that typing is almost a form of torture. I am telling you this because the quality of this article could begin to decline. Or I could enter a wicked awesome drug stupor. We can only hope.

I’ve adapted this recipe from the Treasury of Home Baking, an awesome book if you like baked goods. Rather than converting using math(s), I like to weigh my ingredients out so that I know our BitchBuzz readers in the U.K. are getting accurate recipes. This recipe is an all out kitchen baking trial like your grandma used to do, but the end product is so amazing you’ll hardly remember the work that went into it.

Ingredients

Makes about 3 dozen bars small bars or 12 HUGE bars

Crust

Milk

1 egg yolk – reserve the white

2 ½ cups (360g) All-purpose flour

1 teaspoon (7g) table salt

2 sticks (225g) butter, softened

Filling

1 cup (90g) graham cracker crumbs

8 cups tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced to 1/4” (1/2cm) – I used 5 medium granny smith apples

1 cup (230g) granulated (caster) sugar

2 ½ teaspoon (5g) ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon (1g) ground nutmeg

Drizzle

1/2 cup (50g) powdered sugar

1 – 2 tablespoon (15-30ml) milk

1/4 teaspoon (2.5ml) vanilla

Directions

1. Peel, core and slice your apples. Toss with lemon juice to stop browning. Do this first and save yourself from what was my downfall. If you know someone with an apple corer/peeler, bribe them.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

3. For crust, add enough milk to the egg yolk to measure 2/3 cup (175ml); set aside. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly using pastry blender or two knives. With a fork, stir in milk/egg mixture until dough forms a ball. Divide into two halves. Roll out one half into a 15x10” (38cm x 25cm) rectangle on lightly floured surface.  Place on bottom of ungreased 15x10x1” jelly roll pan.

4. For filling, sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over top of dough; layer apple slices over crumbs. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Sprinkle liberally over the apple/crumb mixture, but be sure to safe some to sprinkle the top with.

5. Roll out remaining dough into same size rectangle as before and place over apples.

6. Whip the egg white with a fork then brush over the top of crust. Sprinkle with remaining sugar/cinnamon mixture.

7. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until lightly browned.

8. For drizzle, stir together all ingredients in small bowl. Drizzle over top. Cut into bars.

Image © Jenessa Hooper for BitchBuzz