As far as choosing apples go, Braeburn's work perfectly! Other good choices include Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, or any kind of crisp apple. I used Braeburn and Macoun because thats what was in my fruit bowl, but Macouns are a bit of a softer apple so I wouldn't necessarily recommend them for this. When cutting the apples, make sure you cut them pretty small, since these bars will most likely be cut much smaller than a typical apple crisp or pie is cut. When making the pastry mixture, make sure you beat the egg before adding it,or else you will end up with a mess! This is very important, so I actually bolded it below, since it is an understandable, yet catastrophic mistake to make. Also, add the flour/sugar/cinnamon mixture to the apples in chunks, since depending on how many apples you use and how small you cut them, you may not need all of it. I ended up having too much, so there was extra on the bottom. Hope all this information helps! Enjoy!
Apple Streusel Bars
Pastry:
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup butter
- 1 egg, beaten
Apple Filling:
- ½ cups white sugar
- ¼ cups flour
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 4 cups (about 3 medium) sliced, peeled baking apples
Icing:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- about 1 Tbsp. milk (whole milk is best)
- ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
Make the pastry: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbles. Gently mix in beaten egg with a fork. Gently pat about 2/3 of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the prepared baking dish and set aside.
Make the apple filling: Combine the flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut up the apples into small cubes and put in a bowl. Pour the cinnamon mixture in with the apples and toss with a spatula until all apples are covered and all the mixture is used.
Spread apples out on prepared crust. Do not pile them all in the middle and try to spread them with the spatula, they will drag along crust with them. Instead, distribute them evenly throughout the baking dish as you pour them on.
Sprinkle reserved crust mixture over apples evenly and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. The sides should look slightly browned and the top should look somewhat hardened, but still quite light-colored. When finished, allow to cool completely.
Make the icing: Whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Place glaze in a Ziploc bag and cut off a very small portion of one of the corners. Drizzle glaze over cooled pastry and allow to harden (you can place it in the freezer to hurry things along). Cut into bars and serve!