Apple Pie Bars

Some of you might be inundated right now by pie recipes, I know I am.  My email is full of them!  They all look amazing but they aren't exactly easy to eat especially if you're holding a plate while standing up and trying to balance a drink in one hand.  This scenario makes these apple pie bars the perfect holiday party dessert.

I was a little curious how they might taste, truth be told I didn't even try one until I was AT the party.  Well, they are fantastic.  I'm an apple pie lover but I'm not necessarily a "crust" lover so I didn't know how I would feel about these. The little drizzle over the top puts these bars into the pastry column.  It adds just a little something that makes these irresistible for me.  The filling was perfect for my tastes.  I cut back on the sugar added to the filling and I used a Jonagold apple instead of a Granny Smith so I knew they weren't going to be quite as tart.  The result was amazing.  My husband is a very big believer in apple pie, it's one of his favorites and he loved these (gulp) even MORE than regular apple pie.

I know!!!

I was shocked too.  I guess I'll be adding this recipe to my favorites page. I love it when I find a new family favorite.  Too bad it wasn't for broccoli or something else I wouldn't feel guilty about eating all the time.

Apple Pie Bars

Recipe from Old-Fashioned Holiday Recipes (Favorite Brand Name) Cookbook page 326

Ingredients

Crust

• Milk
• 1 egg yolk (save the egg white)
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, softened

Filling

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 8 cups *tart cooking apples, peeled, cored, sliced to 1/4-inch thickness.
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp *granulated sugar, divided
• 2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Drizzle

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 to 2 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º
2. For the crust, use a measuring cup to add enough milk to the egg yolk to equal 2/3 cup. Set aside. 
3. In a large bowl combine the flour and salt.  Cut in the butter using two forks or a pastry cutter. Add the milk/egg yolk mixture and mix with a fork until a dough ball forms. Divide the dough in half and put one half on a well floured surface. Roll the dough out to fit your jelly roll pan (make sure it has at least a 1 inch edge, approximately 15x10x1 in size). Place the dough into the jelly roll pan. 
4. For the filling. Put 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs over the top of the rolled out dough layer.  Sprinkle evenly. 
5. Place apples in an even layer over the top of the graham cracker crumbs. Use 1 cup of sugar, 1 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon and nutmeg, stir together and sprinkle over the top of the apples. 
6. Roll out the second half of the dough to the same size as the first one, lay on top of the apples. Brush the top of the dough with the egg white that has been whisked until foamy.  Sprinkle the top with 2 Tbsp of sugar and 1 tsp of ground cinnamon. 
7. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until lightly browned. 
8. For the drizzle, stir together the three ingredients until smooth.  Drizzle over the top and then cut into bars. 

*I used Jonagold Apples which aren't super tart, therefore I cut back on the sugar added to the filling and only used about 1/2 cup.