Apple Pie Bars

We had a potluck this past weekend with our Sunday School class and I made Apple Pie Bars. They were a hit, and I was asked to share the recipe. I first made these about 6 years ago and haven't made them since. Not quite sure why, because they are great!

I had picked up some Gravenstein apples this past week and this was the perfect time to use them! I used my Pampered Chef peeler, corer and slicer which made the prep a lot easier!

The original recipe is from Taste of Home, however, I had a few problems with their recipe and made some modifications. There was just not enough crust for these bars. I had to make extra and piece it together since I just didn't have enough to fill the pan and cover the filling. So, this recipe below is the exact same, but with the proportions changed to make more crust. If you don't need it all, you just trim off the extra. Always better to have too much than too little. And WAY less stress! I was panicking trying to patch the crust and make extra after it was already rolled out and 1/2 covering the apple filling!
Well worth the effort though, I had forgotten how good these are.

Ingredients
Crust
-6 cups all-purpose flour
-1 1/2 teaspoons salt
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 1/2 cups shortening
-6 egg yolks
-12-15 tablespoons cold water

Filling:
--7 cups finely chopped peeled apples (About 5 large apples)
--2 cups sugar
--1/4 cup all-purpose flour
--2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
--Dash ground nutmeg (I forgot this this time!)

Glaze
-1 cup confectioners' sugar
-1 tablespoon milk (the original recipe calls for 2%, I used skim with no problems)
--1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. Cut in shortening until mix is crumbly. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks, lemon juice and water; gradually add to flour mixture, tossing with a fork. Add more water if it seems too crumbly. My crust seemed really dry and I think more water would have helped. Divide in half. Chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out half of the dough between two large sheets of waxed paper into a 17-in. x 12-in. rectangle. (Do NOT mis-read the recipe and try to put the crust into a 17 by 12 inch pan. It will not fit right and you will have to try to move the crust! This is what happens when you cook with lots of interruptions!!)
Transfer to an ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Press pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of pan. Roll out the other half of the dough.

Combine the apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg and pour over the crust. Spread evenly and top with the second rolled out crust. Pinch the edges to seal the two crusts and brush with water if needed to seal. My crust was full of holes and vents, but if yours is nice, cut a few vents in the top.

Bake at 375° for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Combine glaze ingredients until smooth. Put glaze in a ziplock sandwich bag, cut off the corner and drizzle glaze over the bars once they have cooled a little. These are great when they are still warm!

Makes about 2 dozen bars.
Happy Baking!