baked by rachel

When I was recently doing a bit of random blog browsing on Rachel’s blog I saw this recipe for Apple Pie Squares and I knew I would have to make them this year. After I went apple picking I knew that making these was only a matter of time, finding time. Well after a crazy 2 weeks that included a surprise trip to Chicago (more on that later!) I finally had some time to stay home and bake. I’m not saying they take long, I just felt the impulse to basically unpack everything in the kitchen before hand and put it in a new cabinet/drawer/bin before doing anything cooking related.

Before making them I discussed with Rachel that I don’t have a food processor large enough to process all the base ingredients together so I would have to adapt the recipe a bit and I’d see how it works out. Well, folks if you have a food processor then follow Rachel’s instructions, you don’t have one then follow mine. These came out really well so I imagine that you can make it work out for you as well. If you can’t break down oats in something like a mini prep which I borrowed from my friend) then you just carry on. Maybe I’d add an extra egg white to help it come together easier. The important thing is that you make these apple pie squares!

Truthfully I was a bit nervous about enjoying these because I don’t like apple crisps, or any crisps for that matter, since they have an oat crumble on top. Well, it turns out I like the taste and just hate the texture.  Blending the oats kept the great oaty taste but completely changed the texture. Perfect!! In regards to adapting the recipe I basically stuck with it but I used much more apples, basically because I felt like it, so I had to increase the bake time. Also, I didn’t have plain yogurt at home so I used vanilla which gave this a nice a la mode taste to it.These were a hit at work and I bet they will be a hit when you make them too.

Apple Pie Squares

Makes 16 squares

Ingredients

For the base and topping:

• 1 1/2 C flour
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 C oats
• 1/2 C butter, cubed
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp cinnamon

For the filling:

• 6 oz of vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 4 C diced, peeled apple

Process

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 8×8 pan by lining with foil or parchment.
2. In a large bowl, mix the peeled, diced apples together with the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Once evenly coated, add the yogurt and mix to coat all pieces. Set aside.
3. In a food processor,  blend the oats until a fine meal is created.  Add the oats to a large bowl containing flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly to combine. Add the butter incorporate with your hands/forks/pastry blender until the dough is crumbly. Remove 1 cup of the mix, set aside. Add 1 egg white, blend until mixture is just combined.
4. Evenly press moist mixture into the baking pan. Bake crust for 10 minutes.
5. Spoon filling over the pare-baked crust spreading out as evenly as possible. Sprinkle reserved topping mixture over apples. Press down to flatten just slightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
6. Cool in the pan then transfer to the fridge to chill for at least one hour. Remove from pan carefully and slice into 16 squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.