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Hello friends! This is a sponsored post inpartnership withMcCormick. Today we are teaming up to bring you this recipe inspired by an old family favorite, the perfect holiday dessert that your friends and family will really enjoy!
It’s amazing to me how holiday recipes have the power to bringback memories, as well as bring loved ones together to make new ones! I love the way recipes passed down from generation to generation makes us feel so connected to those who have gone before us, with those who have impacted our lives far beyond their intended reach. There’s something comforting about thinking that even when the world was quite a different place than it is now, our grandmothers and grandfathers gathered their loved ones and enjoyed some of the very same dishes we do today. I think it gives us hope that maybe our children’s world will still value what we value, and cherish what we cherish.
These Iced Apple Pie Bars are inspired by a recipe from my grandmother, whose next door neighbor shared the recipe with her when they lived in Mt. Prospect, Illinois – they called it Apple Slices. Last year, I made that recipe with my mom, and while it tasted so very good, I thought it was really hard to make. The crust was super tricky, and had to be rolled out paper, paper thin in order to fit over the apples. It also used real live lard (gah!), which I know was common, but I just could hardly handle! So I adapted it a little bit to make it more manageable for me, and this is what I came up with.
This is a really good type of pie to make if you have trouble with traditional round pies. Not good at crimping fancy edges? No problem here. Just tuck it all in good and tight, and once it’s baked, no one will ever know the difference.
It is also a great recipe for those who love a good crust. The ratio of crust to filling is slightly in favor of the crust here.
I used an all-in-one Apple Pie Spice from McCormick that gives these bars the perfect flavor. Kind of neat to think that my grandma also used McCormick spices to make these apple pie bars considering they havebeen filling America’s spice cabinetsfor over 100 years! I’m sure many of you have memories of your own family’s spice cabinets filled with neat rows of these red capped spices as well. Any of you all alphabetize your spices? Extra points if you do for sure!😉
As you gear up for holiday baking, now is a great time go through your spice cabinet andsure all your spices are fresh and ready to go. Here is a handy guide to refer to for the shelf life of spices.
I hope that you really enjoy the recipes that you choose the bake for your loved ones this holiday season. Whether you are baking an old family favorite, or adding something new and exciting to the table, may good cheer and joy be shared by all as you gather and celebrate together!
Iced Apple Pie Bars
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- Author: Julie
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Perfectly spiced squares of apple pie with crisscross icing on top!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
- 1/2 cup very cold water
- 6 medium sized Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon McCormick Apple Pie Spice
- Optional: egg wash (beaten egg, plus 1 tablespoon milk)
- Sanding sugar
For the Icing
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a food processor, or high powered blender, pulse flour, salt and sugar together. Add cubed butter and pulse again until you have a mixture of coarse crumbs. Slowly add the cold water and process until a dough forms. Remove the dough from the processor and knead a few times on a floured surface to bring the dough together. Divide into two equal parts, and then cover and chill the dough for one hour while you prepare the apple filling.
- In a large bowl mix apples, granulated and brown sugar, flour, and apple pie spice together until well coated.
- Unwrap one piece of dough and roll out into a rectangle shape on a well floured surface, patting the edges together if they crack. Go slowly, and make sure the dough is not sticking to the surface. Add flour as needed. The rectangle needs to be about 2-3 inches larger than the baking pan, so about 12 by 15 inches. Roll the dough around the rolling pin to transfer it into a 9 by 13 inch baking pan, allowing the dough to go up the sides of the pan.
- Spoon the apple mixture evenly on top of the dough, and then roll out the second piece of dough in the same way, laying it on top of the apples.
- Tuck the sides of the dough around the apple mixture, crimping as you go to seal the top and bottom layer of dough together.
- Brush the egg wash over the top crust, and then sprinkle with a thin layer of sanding sugar if desired. This just gives the top crust a nice shiny finish.
- Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Cover the edges of the crust with pieces of foil if they are golden brown before the pie is finished cooking.
- To make the icing, whisk together melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk until smooth. Spoon the icing into a sealable plastic bag, and cut a very small bit of the bottom corner off the bag.
- Cool at least 1 hour before icing and slicing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Bar
- Calories: 433
- Sugar: 35g
- Sodium: 117mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 63g
- Fiber: 3.2g
- Protein: 4.6g
- Cholesterol: 62mg
This post is sponsored by McCormick.
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