Hooray for APPLES!

Even though the impending cold winds eventually manage to push through, wilting leaves do their best to keep them at bay - if only for a while.   Under blue skies, thermometers rejoice at their hovering temperatures in the 70s range.  The local farmer's markets afford us all a few more opportunities to visit with friends and neighbors before the snow flies. 

Nature is preparing to rest after fighting so hard to give us a harvest through our wicked combination of heat and drought.  For whatever reason, everyone just seems a little happier, taking a few more walks in the cool afternoon air.

There is much to be thankful for this time of year.  Nature has a gentle way of reminding us to take pleasure in what it has to offer us all.  Simple things like harvesting, cuddling under blankets in brisk air, picnics under brilliantly colored canopy trees, eating hearty soups and bread, carving pumpkins and baking apples and recognizing that with all we have, we have enough.

Fall does have its perks. 

I recently ran across a recipe for apple bars.  The first time I saw these beauties was at church and never caught up with the person that brought them.  When I ran across this recipe, well, let's just say I was pretty tickled.  You can find the link for the recipe here from Midwest Living.

You'll need apples, corn flakes, egg, sugar, cinnamon, flour, shortening, salt, milk, powdered sugar

Combine the flour and salt.  Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until it resembles small crumbs.

After adding the yolk/milk mixture, combine the dough and pour out onto a well-floured counter.   You're going to divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.  Here, I've used a mat, and when you have to roll out to 17X12, you need all the room you can get!  Save yourself the tears (and the damage done to your kitchen when you throw the rolling pin) by just using your countertop.

By the time you're done pressing the dough into this pan, you're truly going to believe in miracles.  It just doesn't seem possible, but somehow, someway, the stars align, the powers of the kitchen unite, and you seem to be willing these bars into fruition!  It just happens.  I won't pretend to understand these things.  

Sprinkle on your corn flakes...yes, they really do seem to add a little something special.

Sprinkle over your apples....

Yes, of course there is more sprinkling....  Combine the cinnamon and sugar and SPRINKLE that over the apples.

Ah, so many lessons to be learned in the kitchen.  Here you can see that I didn't quite reach my goal of 17X12 and the dough cracked under the pressure of trying to be something it couldn't.  Alas...a little mending here and there with a little water glue and extra dough and it was fine - not perfect, but fine. The kitchen is one place where beauty lies in the little imperfections.    (the operating room is not one of those places, however, which is why I choose to cook.)

For the glaze, mix milk and powdered sugar.  You have a little flexibility here depending on the effect you want to have.  Too much milk and it's thin and will run into itself.  Not enough milk and it will be too thick and hard to glaze.  Find that middle ground where it streams nicely off the fork and stays put where it lands.

Just out of the oven.  While it's still warm drizzle the glaze over top in some random fashion.

I see those cracks, too, and yes, it does bother me a bit, but that's when a little cosmetics comes in handy - GLAZE!

No matter how you glaze it, it'll be gorgeous.

 ....and VOILA'!              
mmm, apple-y, flaky, sweet goodness!

 Okay, so maybe it's just me, but I could look at bakery photos all day....ALL DAY!

Apple Bars

(Midwest living)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup shortening

1 egg yolk

Milk

1 cup cornflakes

8 -10 tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced (8 cups)

3/4-1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I use Penzeys)

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1 cup powdered sugar

3 -4 teaspoons milk

1. In a large bowl combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a liquid measuring cup, beat egg yolk lightly. Add enough milk to make 2/3 cup liquid. Stir well to combine. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture with a fork until combined (dough will be slightly sticky). Divide mixture in half.
2. On a well-floured surface, roll half of the dough to a 17x12-inch rectangle. Fold dough crosswise into thirds. Transfer to a 15x10x1-inch baking pan and unfold dough, pressing to fit into the bottom and sides of the pan. Sprinkle with cornflakes. Top evenly with apples. In a small bowl combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture over apples. Roll remaining dough to a 15x10-inch rectangle. Fold dough crosswise into thirds. Place atop apples and unfold dough. Crimp edges or use the tines of a fork to seal. Cut slits in the top. Brush top with beaten egg white. 
3. Bake in a 375 degrees F oven for 50 minutes or until golden and apples are tender, covering with foil after the first 25 minutes of baking time to prevent overbrowning. 
4. In a small bowl combine powdered sugar and 2 to 3 teaspoons milk to make a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm bars. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 32 bars.