Family Favorites...Apple Nut Bars

I chose this recipe from "Robin Hood Baking" because I had 2 small Granny Smith apples left from canning apple conserve, and didn’t want to waste them.  The book says these are moist, chewy, nutty, a thin apple cake that needs no icing and suggested Granny Smiths or other tart apples.  They said you can use pears, although not as tart and you can add dried cranberries or raisins.  The nuts benefit from toasting; I used a pint of home canned ones that were already toasted.

Click on photo to enlarge

The mixing method is different – but I have a favorite Amish cake that does something similar, so I thought it would be fun to see if these were as good.  The batter looked very syrupy, so I had my doubts, but the bars rose up just like a cake.  The benefit of this method is the same as the Amish cake – the nuts and fruit are evenly suspended throughout.

The verdict…my husband thought these were one of the best recipes I’ve made in years…a 5-Star rating.  We both thought they are perfect when they are perfectly plain – frosting or even powdered sugar would take away from the excellent flavor and make them too sweet.

Apple Nut Bars

  6        Tablespoons Butter

  1        Cup Brown Sugar -- packed (8 ounces)

  2        Large Eggs

  1        Cup Flour, All-purpose -- (4 1/2 ounces)

  1        Teaspoon Baking Powder

  1        Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

     ¼   Teaspoon Salt

     ¼   Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

  1         Cup Walnuts – coarsely chopped

  1         Medium Apple -- peeled and coarsely grated

Preheat oven to 350° 

Melt butter in a large saucepan.  Stir in brown sugar.  Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.  Remove from heat; cool.  While mixture is cooling, measure out dry ingredients and set aside; chop nuts, and lastly, peel and grate apple, so it doesn’t get brown.

Beat eggs, one at a time, into cooled sugar mixture.

Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.  Add to saucepan, mixing until smooth.  Stir in walnuts and apple.  Mix well. 

Spread in greased 9" square cake pan (I lined mine with greased parchment paper).  Bake at 350° for 25-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely in pan on a rack; then cut into bars.  (If apples are wet, you may need to add 5-10 minutes to the baking time.)

Cut into 24 bars.

Per Serving: 109 Calories; 6g Fat (50.6% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 25mg Cholesterol; 80mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.