Apple Pie Bars

Weeks ago, Natalie, from the blog, "Once Upon a Cutting Board," linked up her Apple Pie Bars and made the Sweets for a Saturday Top 5.  Just one look at that irresistible picture and I couldn't wait to make them myself.

They reminded me of the apple crisp bars that my school cafeteria used to serve with lunch sometimes.  It was one of my favorite desserts.  I wonder, if I had thought years ago to ask them for the recipe, do you think they would have given it to me?  Well, no matter.  It's too late now and, at any rate, these Apple Pie Bars taste exactly like them.

 

The one difference between them is that the filling in these is made fresh rather than being canned.  Of course, that makes all the difference in the world - all natural, no preservatives, and therefore healthy (or at least healthier).  Honestly, this filling really is incredible.  A little extra time, patience, and tender loving care and you're rewarded with flavorful apple goodness that could also easily be used to top ice cream, cake, cheesecake, your choice.  Combine that with a buttery crust and cinnamony streusel and you've got a bar that is to die for.

The only changes I made was to use a variety of different apples - Gala, Fuji, and Jazz - since that's what I had in my fridge, and to add some oats to the streusel topping for extra texture and crunch.  Otherwise, I kept the recipe as is.  My family raved about this one.  As for me, eating it brought back some sweet memories.  It's definitely a keeper!  

Apple Pie Bars (adapted from Once Upon a Cutting Board)

6-7 Granny Smith or golden delicious apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices (I used whatever apples I had on hand - a mixture of Gala, Fuji, and Jazz apples)
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Crust:
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. unsalted butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg

Streusel:
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. rolled oats (I added these)
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch salt
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold and cubed (I increased this to 6 Tbsp.)

Combine the apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a saucepan over medium heat.  Cover the pan for 2-3 min., and uncover when the apples have released their juices.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are golden brown and soft and there is no liquid left in the pan, about 15 min.  Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 375F.  Line a 9x13 baking pan with foil or parchment paper.  

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Cream the butter and sugar.  Add the egg and mix well.  Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine.  Spread the dough evenly in the pan and press down.  Prick the dough with a fork and bake for 15-18 min., until crust is golden brown and beginning to release from the sides of the pan.

For the streusel:  Whisk together the dry ingredients.  Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until it is crumbly.  

When the crust is done, remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350F.  Spread the apple filling over the hot crust, and sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the apples, pressing gently to help it stick.  Return pan to oven and bake for 20-25 min., until topping is lightly browned and crisp.  Let cool for at least 2-3 hours before removing and slicing (or you can chill it in the fridge).      

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

I was thrilled to find out that my Secret Recipe Club assignment for this month was Peggy from the blog, "Feeding Andy."  I've been following her posts for quite a while now ever since the time that she used to blog over at, "My Fiance Likes It So It Must Be Good."  With all the great food that comes from her kitchen, I'd say that Andy is one very lucky person.

I decided to make her Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars.  They just have autumn written all over them and combine every delicious thing into one treat.  Cheesecake?  Yum!  Streusel?  My favorite!  Caramel apple-y goodness?  You don't need to ask me twice.

 

The only changes I made were to double the ingredients for the crust and to use caramel ice cream topping since I had a jar of it in my fridge.  Other than that, I kept the recipe as is.  These bars were a delight to eat.  Creamy, crunchy, sweet and gooey.  Whatever you do, do not skip the caramel topping because that is what really makes these bars pop!  I shared these bars with some friends and they got some rave reviews.

Thanks Peggy for a great recipe!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars (from My Fiance Likes It So It Must Be Good)

Crust:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, slightly chilled and cubed

Filling:

16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 teaspoons
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced (I used Gala apples)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Streusel:

1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, slightly chilled and cubed
1 cup flour

caramel ice cream topping

To make the crust, combine flour and brown sugar in a medium bowl.  Cut the butter into the mixture with your fingers or a fork until the mixture is crumbly.

Press the dough into a 9x13 inch pan in an even and flat layer.  Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Set aside.

Make the filling by beating cream cheese and 1/2 cup of sugar in a large bowl.  Add eggs, one at a time, until just incorporated.  Stir in vanilla until just combined.

In a small bowl, combine the apples with the cinnamon and 2 teaspoons of sugar.  Let sit for about 1-2 minutes, then gently fold into cream cheese mixture.

Pour the batter over top of the warm crust.

Make the topping by combining the oats, flour, and brown sugar.  Cut the butter into the mixture until it is chunky and crumbly.

Top the cream cheese mixture with an even layer of the topping. 

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until cream cheese mixture is set and topping is a nice golden brown.

Drizzle caramel topping over cheesecake.

Harvest Apple Challah

It just so happened that I had two apples in my house. Now, what should I do with those apples? Should I eat them? Well, I could, and that would be wonderful. But, why eat them when you can bake with them. I've had this Harvest Apple Challah on my mind forever and I decided that now was the perfect time to make it.

The King Arthur Flour website (love that site!) where I got this recipe has some great pictures on how to go about making it and you should really check it out if you decide to give this a try. I made a few changes like substituting brown sugar for the honey and adding more cinnamon, but other than that, I kept the recipe pretty much as is.


The bread, when baked, is a thing of beauty - all golden brown, soft and fluffy, with apples tucked in here and there. It's definitely a healthy bread that you can eat for breakfast since it's not sweet at all, with the exception of the apples adding their natural sweetness to each bite. The King Arthur Flour website also recommended drizzling it with honey before eating, which I tried and I recommend you do the same. The only thing I didn't like was that the apples were still on the crunchy side even after baking. That's fine if you like that sort of thing, but I kind of want my apples to be more tender, so I might cook the apples a little next time before tucking them into the dough. But, even though I felt it could use a little improvement, that still did not stop me from eating this every chance I could. What can I say? The carbs called out to me.


Harvest Apple Challah (adapted from King Arthur Flour)

1/2 c. lukewarm water
6 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I used melted butter)
1/4 c. honey (I used 5 Tbsp. dark brown sugar + 1 Tbsp. water)
2 large eggs
4 c. all-purpose flour (I used 3 1/4 c.)
1 1/2 tsp. salt (decreased to 3/4 tsp.)
1 Tbsp. instant yeast

Apple Filling:
2 medium-to-large apples, NOT peeled, cored and diced in 3/4" chunks
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (increased to 1 tsp.)
1/4 c. sugar

1 large egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. water (for glazing)

Combine the yeast with the water and a pinch of sugar. Let sit until foamy, about 5 min.

Combine the yeast mixture with the melted butter, the honey, and the eggs and stir well. Add 1 cup of flour at a time and mix until the dough no longer sticks to the bottom of the bowl. Knead the dough for about 6-7 min. until it is smooth and elastic. (I ended up using about 2 3/4 cups of flour to start and kneaded in 1/2 cup more.) Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and a dishtowel and let rise for 2 hours, or until it's puffy and nearly doubled in bulk (mine took 1 hour).

Lightly grease a 9" springform pan. Toss the apple chunks with the sugar and cinnamon.

Gently deflate the dough, transfer it to a lightly greased work surface (I used a buttered piece of parchment paper taped to my kitchen table), and flatten it into a rough rectangle, about 8" x 10". Spread half the apple chunks in the center of the dough and fold the short side of the dough over the apples to cover it, patting firmly to seal the apples and spread the dough a bit.

Spread the remaining apples atop the folded-over dough. Cover the apples with the other side of the dough, again patting firmly. Basically, you've folded the dough like a letter, enclosing the apples inside.

Take a bench knife or a knife and cut the apple-filled dough into 16 pieces (i.e. cut it in half first, then cut each half in halves and so on until you have 16 pieces). This will be very messy; the dough is slippery, apples will fall out, sugar syrup will ooze, but just keep going all the same.

Lay the dough chunks into the pan; crowd them so they all fit in a single layer. If any apple chunks fall out, simply tuck them in among the dough pieces or spread them on top.

Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour, until it's a generous 2" high. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 325F.

Whisk the egg with the water and brush the dough with this mixture. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if desired, or omit if you intend to drizzle the bread with honey before serving.

Place the bread in the lower third of the oven. Bake for 55 min., or until the top is at least light brown all over, with no white spots. Remove from the oven, and after 5 min., loosen the edges and carefully transfer it to a rack.

Serve the bread hot, warm, or at room temperature. Drizzle with honey just before serving, if desired; or serve with honey for dipping.

Caramel Apple Cookie Cups

I'll admit that I'm not crazy about caramel apples in general. All that super sticky caramel makes me worry that my fillings are going to pop out, and I would NOT like that to happen.


But, that doesn't mean that I don't still like the flavor of a caramel apple. This got me to thinking about creating a Caramel Apple Cookie Cup, especially when I saw some dried apples at the grocery store. I'm sure all food bloggers are the same way - you see some sort of foodstuff at the store and instead of thinking, "I want to eat some of that," you think, "What can I make with that?" Isn't that true?


Anyway, back to the cookie cups. I added the chopped apples to a lightly cinnamon spiced cookie base and filled them with a caramel buttercream. And, because you can never have too much caramel, I drizzled them with a little more. The warm flavors came together so wonderfully. One bite and you'll be in autumn-y ecstasy. And, I promise that when you eat these, your fillings (if you have any) will stay put.


Caramel Apple Cookie Cups (created by Sweet as Sugar Cookies)

1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
dash allspice
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. chopped dried apples

Caramel Buttercream Frosting:

8 Tbsp. butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. caramel ice cream topping

For the cookie cups:

Cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the vanilla and egg and beat well. Combine the dry ingredients and add, mixing well. Stir in the chopped dried apples.

Grease mini muffin tins. Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full with the dough. Bake at 350F for 10-12 min. until a toothpick comes out clean. While still warm, make a well in the center of each cup with a small spoon or your finger. Chill the tins in the fridge for at least 30-60 min. before removing the cookies.

For the buttercream frosting:

Cream the butter with the powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the caramel ice cream topping. You can add more caramel if you want a stronger flavor.

For the assembly:

After the cookie cups have chilled, remove them from the tins. Fill them with the frosting and drizzle with more caramel, if desired.

Makes approximately 40 cookie cups

Apple Crumble Loaf

Now that autumn is here, apples are on sale all the time and you know what that means - it's time to bake some apple-y goodies. I've had this Apple Crumble Loaf from Sweet Twist of Blogging bookmarked for practically forever and now was definitely the time to make it.

This bread was different from other apple ones I've made before because it not only has streusel on top, but it also has a layer of it running through the middle. Plus, it also has the apples in layers rather than mixed throughout the loaf itself.

I did run into one problem while making these. The recipe says to use melted butter when making the streusel. Against my better judgment, I did so and ended up with streusel goop, not at all the "crumbly" texture I was going for. Now is it just me or does this happen to you too?


I didn't want to waste it after I'd made it, but I also still really wanted that crumbly look, at least on the top of my loaves. So, I made another half batch of the streusel using chilled butter, and voila! I think this is more what it was supposed to be like.


Now you put it all together - batter, apples, streusel, more batter, more apples, and more streusel. We're talking six layers of goodness here.


Into the oven they went and baked up beautifully.


Well, okay, there was one casualty. I may have put a little too much batter into one of the pans and it overflowed. No worries though, since I had put all the pans onto a cookie sheet. This just meant that I got to eat the scraps which is always a good thing.


Now, slice these up and look how pretty it is.


And it tastes as good as it looks too.


Apple Crumble Loaf (Sweet Twist of Blogging)

Streusel:
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. butter (softened, not melted)
2 tsp. cinnamon

Apples:
2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2" pieces (I used Fuji apples)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbsp. sugar

Cake:
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (I'd double this next time)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled
1/2 c. skim milk

Heat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x5x3" loaf pan or three mini loaf pans.

For the streusel: Put all dry ingredients into a medium bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.

Toss the apples with the cinnamon and sugar.

For the cake: Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir together. Beat the eggs and whisk in the butter and milk. Add to the flour mixture and fold just till ingredients are moistened. Spoon half into prepared pan; spread to cover bottom. Sprinkle with half the apples, then top with half the streusel. Add remaining batter on top of the streusel and spread to cover. Sprinkle with the remaining apples, then the rest of the streusel. (Note: If you're doing this in mini loaf pans, use about 6 Tbsp. of batter + 1/3 c. apples + 1/4 c. streusel for each layer.)

Bake for 1 hour, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 min. Run a knife around the sides; invert the loaf onto a rack and then revert side up. Let cool completely.

12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies #6 - Apple Brownies

These past few weeks, I've been baking up a lot of things with pumpkin - cornbread, blondies, and even brownies. After all, 'tis the season. But, then I thought, why should pumpkin get all the credit? It's time to put apples back in the spotlight. So, I decided to make Apple Brownies.


I found the recipe on the site, Gourmet Mom-on-the-Go. However, I did modify the recipe slightly to add even more flavor. Instead of using only cinnamon in the batter, I also added some cardamom. I don't know if that makes a big difference, but the bars certainly taste delicious so it doesn't hurt. If you don't have any on hand, don't worry about it. Cinnamon alone would still make great bars or you could swap in a little nutmeg or your own favorite spice instead of the cardamom.

In addition, I added some cinnamon sugar to the top of the brownies. This, to me, is a definite must and I highly recommend it because, as I've said before, cinnamon-sugar makes everything better. Although, I'm kind of thinking that I might like these with a powdered sugar glaze too. Or, heh heh, a cinnamon powdered sugar glaze. Now we're talking.

But, whether you sprinkle them, glaze them, or frost them, these bars will be absolutely amazing. They're cakey and extremely moist due to all the apples in the mix. They literally will melt in your mouth, I'm not kidding. Now you know this little secret - brownies do not have to be chocolate. Nope, apples can make some really good brownies too.

By the way, don't forget to enter my giveaway for a $45 CSN gift certificate HERE. The giveaway will end on 11/14 so you still have a week to get your entries in.



Apple Brownies (adapted from Gourmet Mom-on-the-Go)

1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cardamom
3 large or 4 small apples, peeled and diced
cinnamon-sugar (for sprinkling)

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, and apples. Mix well. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Bake for 45 min. or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

This recipe is linked to:
A Prairie Story's Recipe Swap Thursday
Friday Favorites
Family Friendly Fridays
Friday Potluck
Foodie Fridays
Vegetarian Foodie Fridays
What's Cookin' in the Kitchen Fridays
Moms Crazy Cooking "This Week's Cravings - Thanksgiving Cookies and Desserts"
Delicious Dishes
Tailgating Time

Week 6 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

Homemade Applesauce

I love apples, all kinds of apples, and I love them in every way, shape, and form - pie, cake, brownies, breads, out of hand, you get the point. But, I confess that sometimes I buy more apples than I can eat. Which was the predicament I found myself in today. Since I don't have anyone else to cook for and no immediate person to give goodies to, I decided against using them in baked goods. Plus, I was craving something healthy. So I decided to make . . . .

APPLESAUCE!!!

This has truly been a year of firsts for me - baking my own bread, making my own jam, and now cooking up a pot of applesauce. It's been a wonderful and fun learning experience. Not to mention, it'll do wonders for my food storage someday.

I used gala and fuji apples, since that's what I had in my fridge. But, I would imagine that any type of cooking apple would work in this recipe. I also omitted the sugar since I prefer my applesauce as natural as possible. Trust me, you really don't need it. Spices, on the other hand, are a must for me. I added in some cinnamon, a dash of ginger, and a little cardamom.

I was amazed by how quickly the applesauce came together. In less than half an hour, I had this beautiful bowlful of applesauce all ready for snacking.


Oh yum. Goodbye store-bought applesauce.


Sarah's Applesauce (adapted from Allrecipes)

4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
3/4 c. water
1/4 c. sugar (I omitted this)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
dash of ginger and cardamom (optional)

In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15-20 min., or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.



This recipe is linked to:

A Moderate Life's "Hearth 'n Soul Hop"
My Sweet and Savory's "My Meatless Mondays"
All the Small Stuff's "Tuesdays at the Table"
Dr. Laura's Tasty Tuesday