This recipe is fantastic! I also make circular fruit pies with the same crust recipe.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 9×13-inch pan |
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup shortening
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup milk
- 10 apples – peeled, cored and thinly sliced
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C.)
- In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg yolk in measuring cup and add enough milk to make 2/3 cup total liquid. Stir into flour mixture until all flour is damp. Divide the dough in half. On floured surface, roll half the dough into a rectangle and fit into a 9×13 inch pan.
- In large bowl, combine apples, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Put apple mixture in pan. Roll out remaining dough and place over apples. Seal edges and cut slits in top dough. Beat egg white till frothy and brush on crust.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until golden brown.
- I also use this recipe with a blueberry filling: 2 cups of white sugar, 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 356 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 47 g |
| Cholesterol | 18 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Sodium | 207 mg |
| Sugars | 23 g |
| Fat | 18 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I don’t understand why there are reviews on here about the dough being difficult to work with. I made the recipe exactly according to directions and the dough was super easy to work with and the bars turned out unbelievably good. I’ve grown up eating my mom’s homemade baked goodies – she was known for always having delicious treats on hand for everyone – and I was really impressed with these bars! They’re delicious!!!!!!
Very delicious recipe. Definitely a new favorite and will make again.
Great dessert. I found that it needs more apples and less sugar. I added 1 more apple and cut the sugar by half.
I made it almost the exact same way the recipe calls for. Only add extra half of a teaspoon of cinnamon just because we like cinnamon here, and did the lemon frosting on top like some others suggested. It is very good! I give it a 4 stars only because to me and my kids it’s just like an apple pie, same taste and texture, only looks different and I was looking for a bar type of dessert. The frosting added a different note to it. I may keep doing it just because it uses more apples than my apple pie recipe and I like that it seems to have less apples in between the crust in comparison with apple pie and that for my liking is better. I guess that is something else different. Happy that I didn’t waste my time but disappointing that wasn’t what I was a looking for.
Didn’t have enough shortening so used some butter. The crust was excellent but a little hard to work with, probably because of the butter. I will make it again and make sure I stick to the recipe.
Very good! Almost as good as the apple squares my Mom used to make us…boy I miss her making those. I will add a bit more sugar to the apples the next time I make these. I can see how other fruits would be great also. The crust is very nice, I did substitute 3 T. of the shortening to butter for a richer flavor. And to avoid runny apples, I added 2 t. cornstarch with the apples.
These are amazing, however, I have another version of this recipe that my family has used for approx. 30 years. If you sprinkle crushed cornflakes over the bottom layer of crust (under the apples) it soaks up a lot of juice. (It does not stay crunchy!) I use approx 8 -10 cups of apples, and I just sprinkle the sugar mixture liberally over the apples. I usually increase the amount of sugar. If the dough is too soggy, I add a small amount of flour until it is the right consistency. I am not an apple pie lover, but I LOVE these!
I love this recipe but I have found that the dough is easier to work with when you use the egg white in the dough instead and whip the egg yolk with a bit of milk and cover the crust to help it golden.
I wish it was as easy as the recipe. I completely agree with a previous reviewer, the dough is impossible to work with. I had to resort to roll it in the pan. No amount of additional flour helped. Way too much milk- and i didn’t even put it all in. I’ve made homemade play dough that was easier to work with than this. Very disappointed
Everyone seems to love this recipe. The dough can be a bit sticky to manage so flour well. But this is a great way to use surplus apples!
I will make it again .
Husband loved it! I felt it was too sweet. Crust was nice. Will probably make again for the hub!
I just made this for a family gathering. I used Truvia 75% White and their 75% Brown – Stevia Blends instead of straight sugars and it was wonderful. Many compliments on the crust as well. Will make many times and use the crust for lots of other items too.
Halved the recipe since I have a small family. Also added the chunky sanding sugar on top for a little crunchy sugar.
Way better than expected! I used Cortland apples from our tree… and made exactly as written. Will make again and use the crust recipe for other pies. Thanks for sharing!
Delicious pastry type apple bar.
Excellent crust and overall great taste. Will definitely make again. The only thing I did differently was sprinkle sugar on it when I took it out of oven. Great dish!
I needed dessert for 100 people and made 7 full size cookie sheets. I cut and prepared apples and spices a day early, sprinkled with a bit of lemon juice, and packaged into 7 ziplock bags and stored in the fridge. Used Cortland apples–they were large so only needed 6 per sheet but could have used more if I wanted. They still browned a bit–didn’t change the taste though. I rolled out the dough in a rectangle on waxed paper (another recommendation from here–it was much, much easier to assemble), dampening the wax paper underside so it didn’t slip. I also sprinkled cornstarch on bottom crust before adding the apples, and added a touch of maple syrup. Served with homemade salted caramel sauce because Cortlands were fresh but not overly sweet. Lots of raves!
Made it twice, my picky eater husband requested it.
Have had a hard time finding this recipe! Years ago I made something similar. The crust is perfect..much richer than pie. I added a bit more flour to make the dough easier to work with. For the shortening I used 3/4 c butter and 1/4 c pork lard…perfect combination! Doesn’t get any better than that. So glad to have “apple squares” back in my recipes!
First time to make pastry dough from scratch by myself. I made it exactly as recipe called for. It turned out awesome. Made one for hubby first to see if it was ok for family Easter dinner. He loved it!!