Apple Pie Bars

As you may be able to tell, I’m a huge fan of cookie bars. So, surprise! Another cookie bar recipe. My excuse this time: last day of work at my current company. What says “Goodbye!” in a nicer way than delicious apple pie bars? On this rainy President’s Day, I made the .5 mile trek to Wisconsin Avenue for the second time (went to the gym this morning! Woo!) and picked up apples and eggs at Whole Foods.
I followed this recipe, with a couple tweaks.


~Apple Pie Bars~

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of ground cloves (I didn’t have cloves, so I substituted pumpkin pie spice)

1 stick of butter, softened

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 TBSP of vanilla (I used a little less than that…)

2 apples, cored and diced (don't bother peeling them and granny smith is best)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and spices.
In a large bowl (or your stand mixer) beat butter and sugars together until light&fluffy.
Add in eggs one at a time on low speed until completely mixed together and smooth.
Add in a little flour mixture at a time on low, mix until all of the flour is incorporated.
Stir in apple chunks. The dough will be super thick, more like the consistency of cookie dough and it kind of hard to mix.
Spread dough evenly into your greased pan, you can use a spatula to help get it even or I just sprayed my hands with a little of the nonstick spray and flattened everything out that way.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, it will be a light golden brown colored.
Let cool completely before cutting into them.