Cooking Nostalgic Bites: Savor the Sweetness of Vintage Apple Bars

Since it is now fall, I decided to kick off the season with a recipe that Carol had two copies of in her recipe box (they are both in her handwriting). To me, that means that it was something she must have liked! I adore everything about apples and cinnamon, so this recipe called to me. It almost tastes like a rustic pie, and we enjoyed it with some vanilla ice cream on top.

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The top of the recipe refers to a 13x9x2 inch baking dish, but the bottom refers to a 15x10x1. I decided to go with the first one to make it a bit thicker.

The first directions are to mix 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then cut in butter. I like to use a Pastry/Dough Blender because it is easier than using a fork, and this one is sturdy enough to not bend and break like an old wire one.

You cut in the butter with the pastry blender using a rocking motion until the butter is the size of small peas. They don’t have to be uniform, just cut up and encased with the flour.

Then stir in the egg yolks and press half of it into the bottom of a baking dish.

I like to use an Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer because it gets the apples in uniform pieces quickly. I did leave just a little peel on a few slices, but that had more to do with the non-uniform size of my apples.

Then add the cinnamon, 1/4 cup flour, and 3/4 cup sugar to the apples and spread over the top of the crust.

Sprinkle the rest of the crust over the top and brush with beaten egg white. That was much easier said than done, so I just drizzled the egg white over the top.

Bake for about 40 minutes until golden brown

Delicious! A cross between apple crisp and apple pie.

Apple Bars

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter 2 sticks
• 2 egg yolks
• 4 medium apples peeled, cored, and sliced 4 cups
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg white slightly beaten

Method

 

1. Combine 2 c flour, 1/2 c sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl
2. Cut in butter until crumbs are the size of small peas
3. Stir in egg yolks
4. Divide mixture in half, press one half over the bottom of a 13x9x2 inch baking dish
5. Combine apples, 3/4 c. sugar, 1/4 c. flour, and cinnamon, spread over bottom crust.
6. Crumble remaining crust over the top and brush egg white over.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
8. Cool and cut into bars. Drizzle with thin powdered sugar glaze if desired, or serve warm with ice cream.