Edie Wadsworth

I found this {glazed apple bar} recipe at Meg’s blog. I will repost it here for the ease of my readers but please visit her site and be amazed and inspired. I am posting it for two reasons. One is because they are absolutely delicious—made with a short bread crust, then a layer of apples, sugar and cinnamon, and then topped with shortbread crumbles. Divine, I tell you. Divine.

But a little family feud {I think I said ‘violent conversation’ on facebook} ensued about whether or not these bars are better than apple pie. To be fair to my husband, he was reared by a woman who makes the best pies I have ever tasted in my life. This woman knows the temperamental nature of pie crust {and dough in general} like nobody’s business. She has a sixth sense about all baked things. She makes comments about the humidity is affecting her crust and the tapioca pearls are not quiet the right size. She is the pie whisperer. So, for the sake of our argument, I think I’m going to have to exclude her pies from this discussion. Because we can only get her pies about once or twice a year. Unfortunately for me, in this battle of the baked goods, he just had her pie a few weeks ago.

Here’s a snippet of a recent conversation about the apple bar/apple pie showdown:

Me: Honey, did you taste the apple bars I made today?

Stevie: {engrossed in his iPhone and watching Glen Beck and therefore doesn’t look up to answer} Um-hum.

Me: Well?

Stevie: They’re alright. {looks up at me, thinking that the ‘alright’ might get him in trouble}. Yeah, they’re pretty good.

Me: Whaaaaatt? Pretty good? Really? Because I think they’re possibly the best non-chocolate baked good I’ve ever tasted. Even better than apple pie.

Stevie: {he laughs uncontrollably} Better than apple pie? Are you kidding me? That’s outright blasphemy.

Me: Okay, well maybe not your mother’s apple pie but it’s better than every other apple pie.

Stevie: Iiiiiii don’t think so.

Me: What bite did you taste?

Stevie: What do you mean, what bite did I taste?

Me: I mean, was it a bite from the edge where there were not as many apples? Did you try a whole piece or just a bite? Did your ‘bite’ have the shortbread crumbles on it or was a stripped down bite?

Stevie: {looking at me and realizing that I’m armed for battle here—-and hoping to pacify me, put this all behind him and finish watching his news in peace} You know what, it was just a bite from the edge. I’m sure the rest of it is just as wonderful as you say.

And to be fair, he did love it once he had the complete apple bar experience. But I wouldn’t let it go. So, I took a plateful of them to the dance studio {where my girls dance and I sit and knit and chitty-chat} and passed them out to get the response of the public at large.

The results of my intense double blind study: woman prefer them to apple pie and men do not.
In fact, one of the men ate the bar, said it was ‘good’ and then proceeded to eat a whole, raw apple. That would not be my first inclination after eating these buttery delicious bars but whatever. Marcus {Steve’s son and self-proclaimed foodie} responded to my facebook update about this ongoing apple battle and said he would be the judge when he comes to visit this weekend. I’m a little nervous. Because Marcus just had the best apple pie in the known world too. But I’ll report the results to you without bias.

I think you should make them and weigh in. {although don’t literally ‘weigh in’ because they have 3 sticks of butter)

Here’s the recipe:

{glazed apple bars}

First you combine 4 C. flour, 1/2 t. salt and 2 C. sugar.
Then, cut in 3 sticks of butter. The mixture will be crumbly and Meg recommends you use your hands. I wholeheartedly agree. I first tried my mixer and it didn’t work well. Press about 2/3’s of this crumbly mixture into a jelly roll pan.

Peel, core and slice 4-5 Granny smith apples and layer over the shortbread mixture.
Combine 1/3 C. sugar and 1 t. cinnamon, sprinkle it over the apples.
Crumble the remaining flour/sugar/butter mixture on top of the apples.
Bake it at 350 degrees for 50 – 60 minutes…until it is crispy on the bottom.

After it bakes, let it cool.
Make a glaze with 1 C. powdered sugar, 1 t. vanilla, 1 T. water.