May 13: Apple Crumb Bars

Apple Crumb Bars

Ingredients:
Base:
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups (6.8 oz) all-purpose flour
3/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons (4.5 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature

Filling:
2-3 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced or chopped
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9-inch square metal pan with nonstick foil or just spray the pan with flour-added baking spray.
2. Make the base: In a bowl or food processor, combine the brown sugar, oats, flour, baking soda, and salt. Cut in or process the butter until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Reserve about 3/4 cup for the topping; pat the remaining into the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside.
3. Make the filling: Toss the apples with 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice and arrange in a fairly even layer across the crust. Sprinkle with the cinnamon.
4. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and water and stir well. Cook over medium heat, whisking or stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to boil and thicken. It will go from cloudy to translucent. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla, butter, and remaining teaspoon of lemon juice. Pour over the apples. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs on top, then sprinkle the pecans over the crumbs.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Let the bars cool completely in the pan before slicing. For a cleaner cut, chill before slicing, then serve at room temperature.

Crumb ingredients

Filling ingredients (minus the water)

For the top layer

Bottom layer

Apples with lemon juice

Added the cinnamon

Added the vanilla and lemon juice

Filling

Crumb topping

Half with pecans, half without (before)

After

Thoughts: I never use freshly squeezed lemon juice. I always use the jar. I used probably an extra 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon so it would cover the apples completely. The bar was very mushy. This could've been from cutting the bars when they were still warm. The taste was just ok...

September 22: Apple Chunk with White Chocolate Cookies

Apple Chunk with White Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup (4.5 oz) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon maple flavoring
3/4 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats (not instant)
1/2 cup finely chopped green apple, such as Granny Smith
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup raisins
2 oz white chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line 2 baking sheets with nonstick foil or parchment paper.
2. Mix the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a small bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until creamy. Beat in the applesauce. Continue beating on medium speed, scraping the bowl often. Add the egg, maple syrup, vanilla, and maple flavoring; continue beating until well mixed. By hand, stir in the flour mixture until incorporated. Stir in the oats, apple, walnuts, and raisins.
4. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for 10-13 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Let cool completely on a wire rack set over some paper towels. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds. Drizzle the white chocolate over the cookies.

I know you can't see the label but I bought...imitation maple flavoring! I know I'm ashamed too. It's the only thing the store had.

Dry ingredients

Addition of applesauce

Addition of syrup, maple flavoring, egg and vanilla

Addition of the dry ingredients

Addition of raisins and oats

Addition of apple

Addition of walnuts

Clearly drizzling is not a talent of mine!

Thoughts: I hate recipes that include drizzling. I now have tools to make it easier but honestly I was lazy and just wanted to get it over with. I didn't have pure maple syrup so I just used store bought syrup (it has maple in it, right?). Other than that, it was pretty easy. I used about 1/2 of a Granny Smith apple. I baked them for 11 minutes and they come out pretty soft. It only yielded about 20. It tastes like a spice cookie. We both liked it.