Dutch Apple Pie Squares

There’s a pretty big difference between sliced apples and diced apples. Slicing means to cut, while dicing means to cut into small, uniform pieces. And if I’d read the King Arthur Flour Dutch Apple Pie Bar recipe correctly, I would have diced, rather than sliced, my Granny Smiths. Eh, live and learn.

The funny thing is that I thought I’d done something wrong when I poured my filling into my baking pan, but I went with it anyway. The good news is that Mike thinks this concoction is absolutely delicious, though the bad news is that it’s definitely not something I can slice into squares and send to work with him. Not that he’s upset about this; apple pie is one of Mike’s favorite things ever, and this is essentially a rectangular apple pie. Next time, I’ll dice my apples and see how it goes.

Ingredients

For the crust

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons ice water

For the filling

• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 Granny Smith Apples, sliced*
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

For the topping

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly spray a 9×13 baking tin with baking spray and set aside.

To make the crust, whisk together flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut cold butter into pieces and rub (or cut in with a pastry blender) into the flour mixture until the mix looks like coarse crumbs. Drizzle beaten egg over the top and toss with a fork to combine. Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing to combine until the dough starts to clump together. If you take a handful and it sticks together, you’ve added enough water.

Roll out your dough to a rectangle, large enough to fit in your baking tin; I roll my crust between two sheets of parchment to make it easier to handle. Prick all over with a fork, then bake crust for 10-12 minutes, until just set.

In another large bowl, combine flour, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Add apples and toss to coat, then add vanilla extract and heavy cream, stirring to combine. To make the topping, combine flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and stir in melted butter, then vanilla and almond extract. Stir until fairly even crumbs form.

Pour filling over crust, then sprinkle with topping. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 30-35 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Remove from oven and cool in the tin; if you actually dice your apples you could slice this into squares for individual servings, but I’m just leaving mine in one rectangular slab and Mike will cut slices in whatever size he likes. I suspect this would be delicious when served warm, with some vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.