Recipes
Jessie Sheehan's Better-Than-Apple-Pie Bars
Makes 16 bars
Apple pie is great and all, but apple pie bars are, well, better. I like Honey Crisp and Pink Ladies in these bars, but I won’t lie: Granny Smiths are my go-to. The crumb topping and crust can be made old-school style with your hands (which are your best tools in the kitchen, FYI) but if you use your food processor you will def save time. But you do you: if lugging out a machine and then having to clean it and put it away again gives you agita (which, honestly, I am feeling just writing this . . .) then stick to those hands: they will never steer you wrong. The crumb topping and crust soften a bit on day two and that is hardly a bad thing.
Image Credits
Photo by Nico Schino
Ingredients
For the crumb topping and crust
- 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring your fingers
- ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 tablespoons (142 grams) unsalted butter, cubed and cold
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Cooking spray or softened unsalted butter for pan
For the apple filling
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (75 grams) of granulated sugar
- 1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 to 5 medium apples (about 1½ pounds; 684 grams), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (about ¼ inch thick)
- 1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Method
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Grease an 8 by 8-inch square cake pan with cooking spray or softened butter. Line the pan with a long piece of parchment paper that extends up and over two opposite sides of the pan.
- To make the crumb topping and crust by hand, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Rub the butter into the dry
ingredients using your fingers, until the butter is crumbly and pea-sized. Stir in the egg and vanilla with a fork, or your hands, until the mixture holds together when squeezed. Alternatively, to make the topping and crust with a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients and the butter in the bowl of the processor until the butter is pea-sized; then pulse in the egg and vanilla. - Remove 1½ cups (230 grams) of the crumb and refrigerate in a small bowl. Evenly press the remaining dough into the bottom of the prepared pan with floured fingers, dock with a fork, and bake for about 15 minutes, or until you have finished preparing the filling.
- To make the apple filling, whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in the same large bowl in which you made the crust and topping - no need to clean it first. Add the apples and toss to coat with a flexible spatula or your hands. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and toss a final time. Remove the crust from the oven, if you have not already, and carefully cover the warm bottom crust with the filling, pressing it down lightly. Sprinkle with the remaining chilled dough, using your fingers to pinch off and create crumbs, and gently press to adhere.
- Lower the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 60 to 65 minutes, rotating at the halfway point, until the crumb topping is lightly browned and the apples bubble around the edges and are soft in the center. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Serve straight from the pan, or lift the bars out of the pan by the parchment overhang, running a butter knife around the edges. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, slice, and serve. Keep the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Reprinted with permission fromSnackable Bakes: 100 Easy-Peasy Recipes for Exceptionally Scrumptious Sweets and Treats by Jessie Sheehan. Copyright © 2022. Photographs by Nico Schino. Published by Countryman Press.Links
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