I haven’t had much luck in the apple pie department – and TBH, as it’s not one of my favorite pies, I haven’t even tried to find the ultimate version. Give me an apple tart, apple crumble, or even better – Ina Garten’s Apple Pie Bars.
Her genius recipe removes the fuss of working with pastry dough by using a simple pressed shortbread crust instead. As shortbread is one of my favorite things on earth, how could that be bad?
You first bake shortbread crust, then top it with spiced apples cooked with cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice. I couldn’t find Golden Delicious apples, so I substituted Pink Lady apples, which worked beautifully.
The final touch is a crumble topping made from the same shortbread dough used for the crust – with the addition of walnuts and cinnamon.
Once baked and cut into squares, these bars were perfect – the only thing miss? A scoop of ice cream!
Book: Cooking for Jeffrey, page 214
Rating: 5/5
How Easy Is That: Easy
Store-Bought Is Fine: Unsalted butter
Pricey Ingredients: —
Hard-to-find: —
Recipe on FoodNetwork.com
