It's time to have some fun. I will now bake something delicious.

I’ve been struggling with some family cancer issues lately. It’s time for a pick-me-up and that means baking! Nothing cheers me like a little quality time in the kitchen. Let’s browse through my favorite cookbook (the internet) and see what jumps out…

Fall. Apples. Cinnamon.

I don’t feel like making my standard mile-high pie. Let’s give pie baking a creative twist! And here it is, a delicious recipe from LoveGrowsWild. Please make sure to check out Liz‘s site for more great food ideas.

Apple Pie Bars from LoveGrowsWild

Prep time: 25 mins

Cook time: 50 mins

Total time: 1 hour 15 mins

These Apple Pie Bars are the perfect handheld dessert and SO delicious! Made with fresh apples and topped with a sweet vanilla glaze.

Author: Liz Fourez

Serves: 20

Ingredients

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and diced into cubes
¼ cup 2% milk
1 egg yolk
Filling:
5 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup packed brown sugar
1½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Topping:
1 egg white
1½ tablespoons Turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons 2% milk
½ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Pie crust: Add flour and salt to a food processor bowl and pulse ingredients together. Add cold, cubed butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk and egg yolk and pulse until mixture comes together and can be formed into a ball. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate while preparing filling.
Filling: Place diced apples in a large mixing bowl. Add vanilla and toss to coat. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour flour mixture over apples and toss until evenly coated.
Assemble the pie: Divide pie crust dough into 2 equal portions. Roll first portion into a 13×9″ rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer dough into the bottom of an ungreased 13×9″ baking dish by placing a rolling pin in the center of the dough, folding one side up over the pin, then folding the other side on top. Lift the rolling pin over the baking dish and unfold both sides into the dish. Carefully dump apples over the crust and spread them up to ½” around the edge of the crust. Roll out the 2nd dough portion i the same manner about ½” larger on each side. Transfer dough over apples and tuck sides of dough down into the baking dish, sealing the apples inside the crust. In a small bowl, whisk the egg white until foamy and brush over top of the pie. Combine the Turbinado sugar and cinnamon in another small bowl and sprinkle evenly over pie. Bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 1 hour on a baking rack before cutting into squares. Serve bars drizzled with glaze (see instructions below) or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Glaze: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Thin with additional milk if necessary and drizzle over bars.

Notes

– If you don’t have a food processor, you can make the pie crust by hand also. Just use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture and use your hands or a spoon to add in the milk and egg until you can form the dough into a ball.

– Adapted from Cooking Classy

FYI, I left off the glaze and the pie bars still had a great sweet taste. I also calculated the number of calories per bar: 178. The original recipe listed 12 generous servings but I cut my pie bar into 20 individual servings, and they were still a good size.