shortbread

Apple Pie Bars

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When it becomes seasonally appropriate I immediately start cooking and baking comfort foods.  I cannot wait until it’s cool enough to cook a pot roast!  This one.  It’s beyond terrific.  But it’s 85 in Houston today, so even though we are technically in the season of fall, it doesn’t feel like it here and the thought of having the oven on makes me uncomfortable.  I know I shouldn’t complain because it’s not totally abnormal, this is what you get in Texas (certain parts of Texas at least…I miss you, Amarillo).  But soon enough we’ll have highs in the 50s and I’ll be able to wear jeans without sweating and I’ll be able to make these for a party where everyone is in boots and scarves and sipping hot chocolate and frolicking in the leaves.

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These bars are simply perfect with their buttery shortbread crust, sweet apple filling and crunchy oat topping.  The ingredient list is basic and they aren’t at all difficult.  Served with some sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream this is my idea of the perfect dessert.  If you have an apple pie craving but don’t have the time to make one, these are a perfect substitute.  I’ve used “perfect” three times so far.  And they truly are wonderful.  I want one right now.

I tried them a second time with cherry filling and made a half batch.  Half of them fell apart on their way from pan to plate, so I need to do some tinkering with baking time and some amounts.  But they were delicious and everyone who tried them sang their praises.  With the crust and topping you could use any kind of fruit filling, but the apple is nice for this time of year.  Please share if you try out anything spectacular!  Enjoy.

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Apple Pie Bars

From More from Magnolia

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and softened slightly
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 2 cups flour

Topping

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats + 3 tablespoons
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, softened slightly

Filling

  • 1 can (21 ounces) apple pie filling

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Make the crust: Combine the butter, flour and salt in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until crumbly and well combined.  (You can do this with a pastry blender as well.)  Pat the dough into the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan so that it is even and firmly packed.  Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven, and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes.
  3. Make the topping: In the same bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt.  Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly and well combined, use your hands if necessary.  Set aside while the crust cools.
  4. Place the apples on top of the cooled crust, spacing them evenly and leaving about 1/4 inch edge around.  Spread any remaining sauce from the can evenly over the apples.  Gently spread the crumb topping evenly over the apples, then sprinkle with the remaining 3 tablespoons of oats.
  5. Bake for 45 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Shortbread, Salted Dulce de Leche & Brownie Bars

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You have no doubt seen those bars on Pinterest, and floating around on the internet called slutty brownies.  I saw them posted on Pinterest by one of the last people I would have ever expected to allow the word ‘slutty’ to appear before her eyes, much less repin a recipe with the word in the title.  I immediately clicked on it when I saw her pin.  These things are ridiculous, and I mean that in a very good way.  A layer of Oreo cookies is sandwiched between a chocolate chip cookie layer and a brownie layer.  They make my mouth water and I’m pretty sure that looking at them just made my yoga pants stretch out a little more than they already were.  By the way, I did not do yoga in these pants today.  In fact, I did nothing.  Oh no, I vacuumed.  That’s something.

So here they are.  The slutty brownies.  And don’t you see what I mean?  Don’t you just feel a little fatter after looking at them?

Photo from whatsgabycooking.com

Anyway, the link I clicked on led me to the Londoner.  She uses boxes of mix, which is totally fine in my opinion, especially with something called slutty brownies.  The easier the better.  Another recipe, from What’s Gaby Cooking, uses scratch made cookies and brownies.  I typically don’t have that kind of time or patience, so I admire you, Gaby!  Jessica Simpson is apparently craving these brownies during her pregnancy, and I don’t blame her.

Now that you’re expecting to see how my slutty brownies turned out (and how much weight I gained after eating the entire pan), I did not actually make slutty brownies.  I just wanted to talk about them.  But I did make a three layered bar that brings together shortbread, dulce de leche and brownies.  I made the shortbread cookie and used a can of dulce de leche and a box of brownie mix.  I think they would have been better with a scratch brownie, which really isn’t all that hard to do and I wish I’d done it.  Next time.

Everyone seemed to like these.  The salt was nice next to the sweetness of the brownie.  The combination of textures, crunchy, sticky and gooey was quite delicious.  The only changes I might make would be to use more dulce de leche and, like I said above, make a scratch brownie.  You could add chocolate chunks or nuts to the brownies, I’d probably use pecans, but I’m biased.  Toffee pieces might also be really tasty, but that might be overdoing it…but not as over the top as the slutty brownies,

Shortbread, Salted Dulce de Leche & Brownie Bars

Ingredients

Shortbread Layer

  • 1 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • pinch of coarse salt
Dulce de Leche
  • 1 can of dulce de leche
  • a couple pinches of flaked sea salt
Brownie Layer
  • 1 family size brownie mix (for a 9×13 pan)
  • ingredients called for on the box (eggs, oil, water)
Directions
Shortbread Layer
  1. Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until mixture resemble coarse sand.  Do not overmix.
  2. Press mixture into a 9×13 pan (greased if desired, I did not grease my pan).  Make sure to push the mixture slightly up the sides.  When you pour the dulce de leche on top you do not want it to touch the sides of the pan or it will burn and stick during baking.
  3. Bake at 325°F for about 20 minutes.  Let cool completely.
Dulce de Leche
  1. Pour dulce de leche into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 20 second increments, stirring in between, until it is smooth enough to spread easily.
  2. Spread dulce de leche over shortbread layer evenly, making sure it does not touch the sides of the pan.
  3. Sprinkle salt evenly and lightly over dulce de leche.
Brownie Layer
  1. Prepare brownie batter according to package directions and pour evenly over the dulce de leche layer.
  2. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes.  Check for doneness on the brownie layer and bake a little longer if batter is not cooked in the middle.
  3. Let cool for at least an hour before cutting.