Caramel Apple Streusel Bars

Well, it has happened. Another year of my life has gone by and it’s time to celebrate with an autumnal dessert! My very favorite desserts involve apples- apple crisp, apple pie, apple turn over, apple dumplings, cider doughnuts, apple cake, apple tart- in fact, I was wracking my brain this year to come up with a new apple dessert fit to serve in the place of birthday cake.

I was struggling until I went to a local fair and saw a very quintessential fall fair treat: a caramel apple! I mean, duh- apple and caramel are match made in heaven. I decided to marry the apple and caramel with a delicious cookie crust and a nutty streusel topping. The result was absolutely delicious and oh-so-ooey-gooey.

It may not be your birthday, but I urge you to come up with an excuse to make these bars. You won’t be sorry! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a pan of these bars that I have strictly forbidden anyone else to eat and they are all calling my name….

Ingredients:

Crust

5 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup sour cream

1cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling

1 cup caramel sauce

3 large apples

Streusel

4 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into small pieces

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 finely chopped pecans

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 9 inch pan with Baker’s Joy and set aside.

Streusel: In a large bowl, use a pastry cutter to combine all the streusel ingredients together until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Filing: Core and peel the apples. Grate them with a coarse grater and set aside.

Crust: Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda. Set aside.

Beat together the softened butter and sugar until lift and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat again. Stir in the dry ingredients until you get a thick, sooth batter.

Comments

Samosas with Yogurt Sauce

I love exploring many kinds of cuisine in my kitchen because I can control the spice level, and in the case of this recipe, the use of cilantro. Cilantro lovers out there- sub it info the parsley here. I have the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, which limits my ability to enjoy some dishes in restaurants, but is easily rectified in my own kitchen. I hope you enjoy! Ingredients: 3 russet potatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped 2 teaspoons curry powder 5 ounces peas Six 8 inch flour tortillas 4 ounces Greek yogurt Oil, salt, pepper, vinegar 4 tablespoons butter Method: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet. Scrub potatoes and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces. Place in a large saucepan with a generous pinch of salt and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Cover and bring to a boil over high; uncover and cook until tenderDrain potatoes and transfer to a bowl. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in reserved saucepan over medium. Add chopped garl...

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Cookies

Like many of you, I made an entire Thanksgiving Day feast for only my husband and I. As such, I have an inordinate amount of leftovers. Expect my blog to largely star ways to dress up leftovers, because I have freezer meals of Thanksgiving day to last a lifetime. In this recipe, I was looking for a way to use up cranberry sauce and leftover walnuts from my apple crisp. Cranberry sauce drop cookies seemed the perfect thing to make; enjoy it with a cup of hot cocoa. I plan on gifting some to my parents; a way to break bread near the holiday without breaking protocols. Enjoy! Ingredients: 3 3/4 cup all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 2 sticks of butter, softened 1 1/2 cups sugar 3 eggs 1 cup cranberry sauce 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup chopped nuts Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Set aside a rimmed baking tray. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside. With ...

Peek-a-boo Squares

My grandma, Mimi, taught me this recipe. I used to make this with her and my mother as a child. It is my very favorite dessert. It is incredibly easy to make, and even easier to eat. My favorite part of making this as a child was dusting every bar generously with snowy white powdered sugar. My favorite version of this dessert uses canned blueberry pie filling; I vastly prefer Libby brand over the store brand. You can make blueberry pie filling from scratch with sugar, cornstarch, bleberries, etc. but using the canned stuff is easy in a pinch and is much for nostalgic for me. Plus, I don’t notice a vast improvement over my homemade blueberry pie filling and the Libby brand; it just takes me longer to put this dessert together. I have been known to whip up a pan of these Friday night and have them disappear by Saturday afternoon. Be warned, these things are addictive! Ingredients: 3 cups of all-purpose flour 2 cups of granulated sugar 4 eggs 2 ...

Watership Down Kitchen

Search This Blog