Apple Streusel Bars

The number one question I get asked when my blog comes up is “How do you not weigh a million pounds?”

The answer is that I have pretty good self control. I have to. If I ate everything I baked, I wouldn’t fit through my doorway. My house is consistently filled with delicious baked goods, and I take one or two bites of them, and then send them off to work with my husband the next day.

This morning I ate oatmeal for breakfast. Oatmeal is gross, but it is full of health benefits. I dutifully dragged myself to the gym and did my one hour work out. While pushing myself through the last 20 minutes on the treadmill, I kept reminding myself how good it will feel to look fabulous at my sister’s wedding in September. I completed my work out and went home, where I ate a high protein lunch of grilled chicken, some carrot sticks, and a few pieces of cheese.

Then, I made these apple streusel bars. You know, for my blog. As usual, I planned to take one bite to test it out, and send it in to work with my husband tomorrow morning.

“Nothing tastes as good as skinny will feel.” they say. “They” are wrong. One bite of these, and my self control went out the window. I ate a whole bar- a big one, essentially wiping out all of my good behavior from this morning.

These tart apples with cinnamon baked in sweet, flaky pastry were well worth it.

Happy eating, everyone, from the apple cinnamon addict. 🙂

Recipe from Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

Pastry:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup real butter (no substitutes!)
1 egg, beaten

Apple filling:
4 cups sliced, peeled granny smith apples
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup flour

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
about 3 tablespoons whole milk, cream, or half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch glass baking dish.

First, make your apple filling. Peel and slice your apples, and toss with sugar, cinnamon, and flour, and set aside.

Now, make your pastry. Using a pastry blender or a fork, mix together flour, butter, sugar, baking powder, and salt together until you have pea sized crumbs. Gently mix in the beaten egg.

Gently pat 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of the baking dish. It will be thin. I find this works best if you use clean, wet hands.

Cover with your apple filling. Try to be somewhat neat about it, your bars will be prettier that way.

Take the remaining 1/3 of the dough and break it apart into crumbles, spreading evenly over the top of the apple mixture. Be patient and do this neatly and evenly.