Cindy's Apple Danish Bars

 

This Apple Danish Bar recipe which I am sharing with you today is one that my sister shared with me many, many years ago when we were both young mums raising young families.   I am not sure where she got the recipe, probably from one of her older friends.

She had an older Ukrainian neighbor named Lucy that used to share a lot of recipes with her and who taught her a lot about cooking. It may have come from her.

There are also a lot of versions of this tasty apple bar online. I found a very similar one here on BHG.  It is basically the same thing, so I am thinking that maybe she didn't get the recipe from a friend, but perhaps from the magazine.  Wherever it came from, there is one thing which matters most and that is these apple bars are flipping delicious!

 

As sisters, we have always been very close and have always shared recipes back and forth through the years. These Apple Danish Bars are a tried and true,  a real family favorite recipe on both sides of the family.

It is not something we, either one of us, made very often, but come apple season, one or both of us was always sure to make it at least once!  It is something we all love.

 

I wish that I could show you the full bake in the pan, but alas I cannot.  My sister made this yesterday and drove through hurricane Lee to bring me a piece of it.  So what you are seeing is the piece that she brought.

I just had to share the recipe with you because, in all honesty,  these bars are just too delicious not to share. I felt that you would want to bake them also!  I hope that I am right in assuming this!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CINDY'S APPLE DANISH BARS

Simple seasonal fruits, and ordinary baking ingredients.

For the pastry:

• 2 1/2 cups (312g) unsifted all purpose plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup (220g) white vegetable fat (These days we don't use shortening, we use half lard (1/2 cup/110g) and half butter (1/2 cup/115g)
• 1 large free range egg yolk (add milk to equal 2/3 cup/160ml)

you will also need:

• 1 cup (28g) cornflakes, crushed a bit

For the apple filling:

• 8 - 10 tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced (about 8 cups)
• 3/4 - 1 cup (150g - 200g) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

To glaze:

• 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
• 3 to 4 tsp. milk

 

Back in the day we never worried about using shortening, or vegetable fat.  (In the UK the equivalent of this is Trex or White Flora.)  I suppose we were not really worried about our arteries that much. 

Now we are older we only ever very rarely ingest the stuff, preferring to use butter and/or lard in it's place.  The idea of using a hydrogenated vegetable fat really bothers us.

If it doesn't bother you, then by all means use Crisco, or Trex or whatever white vegetable fat you have available to you.   I personally think a pastry made with butter is a whole lot tastier!

 

We don't always use the cornflakes in the bottom, but we do use them more often than not. Because this is a soft type of pastry, the cornflakes help to absorb some of the fruit juices and keep the pasty nice and crisp.

They also add a bit of flavor. They don't need to be finely crushed.  You can just coarsely crush them and it will work out fine.

 

We always like to use a mix of apples, both sweet eating apples, like a honey crisp or an orange pippin, and tart apples such as granny smiths and gravensteins.    What you don't want is an apple that is totally going to disintegrate and turn to fluff when it cooks.  Save those for making applesauce!

You can add nutmeg an or cloves if you wish, but we are always happy with just cinnamon. You can also use apple pie spice, which is a lovely mixture of all three.   Just don't over do any of the spices as you want the natural flavor of the apples to shine through!

HOW TO MAKE CINDY'S APPLE DANISH BARS

It might look complicated but I can promise you that these bars are anything but complicated. If you can make a simple pastry, then you can make these!  The pastry can sometimes fall apart, but that's okay, just press the bits together. It will all work out, no worries.

Preheat the oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Have ready a 15 by 10 inch lipped baking pan.

Make the crust. Measure the flour and salt into a bowl. Drop in the fat and cut it into the flour using a pastry blender, or two round bladed knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the milk/egg mixture to give you a soft dough that is not sticky.

 

Roll out and press 2/3 of the dough into the baking pan. Sprinkle with the cornflakes. This is a softish dough and as I said it has a tendency to fall apart sometimes.  Just press any broken bits together in the pan.  It will still bake up perfectly.

Mix together the apple, sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over top of the cornflakes.

(Note - You don't have to slice the apples, you can also chop them. Either is acceptable.)

Roll out the remaining pastry mixture to fit over top. Place over the apples. Fold and crimp the edges of the pastry, sealing the apples in. Cut a few slits in the top to vent.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, until golden brown and the apples are cooked. Leave to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

Once cold, whisk together the icing sugar and the milk until you have a smooth glaze. Flick this glaze over the top of the baked pastry in a decorative manner. Leave to set.

Cut into squares to serve. Delicious with or without ice cream! (Or in the British way with lashings of custard sauce or pouring cream.)

 

These will always be my favorite autumn apple squares.  Not the least because its a recipe my sister shared with me, but also because they are quite simply delicious.

I love the flakiness of the pastry. I love the tender sweetness of the apples. I love that sweet sugar glaze on top. In short, I love these squares and I think you will too!

If you are as fond of apple bakes as I am, then feel free to try out the following apple recipes which I have shared on here through the years:

MOM'S BEST APPLE PIE -   I am sure that everyone thinks that their mother makes the best apple pie.  We, in our family, are no different. Our mom made the best apple pie, with a lovely pastry and plenty of apples.  Not too sweet, never sour.  We like our apples nice and soft. This all depends on the apples you choose to use.  Mom used a mix of white and brown sugars to give the pie a really nice flavor!

OATY APPLE CRUMBLE - With a mix of sweet and tart apples in the base and a buttery and crisp oaty crumble topping, this never fails to please.  Its delicious warm or cold, with or without lashings of custard, or cream, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A real family favorite.

Apple Danish Bars

Yield: 16 bars

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 50 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

I got this fabulous apple bar recipe from my sister about 25 years ago. Its simple to make and a delicious family favorite!

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 2 1/2 cups (312g) unsifted all purpose plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup (220g) white vegetable fat (These days we don't use shortening, we use half lard (1/2 cup/110g) and half butter (1/2 cup/115g)
• 1 large free range egg yolk (add milk to equal 2/3 cup/160ml)

you will also need:

• 1 cup (28g) cornflakes, crushed a bit

For the apple filling:

• 8 - 10 tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced (about 8 cups)
• 3/4 - 1 cup (150g - 200g) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

To glaze:

• 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
• 3 to 4 tsp. milk

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375*F/190*C/ gas mark 5. Have ready a 15 by 10 inch lipped baking pan.
2. Make the crust. Measure the flour and salt into a bowl. Drop in the fat and cut it into the flour using a pastry blender, or two round bladed knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the milk/egg mixture to give you a soft dough that is not sticky.
3. Roll out and press 2/3 of the dough into the baking pan. Sprinkle with the cornflakes.
4. Mix together the apple, sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over top of the cornflakes.
5. Roll out the remaining pastry mixture to fit over top. Place over the apples. Fold and crimp the edges of the pastry, sealing the apples in. Cut a few slits in the top to vent.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, until golden brown and the apples are cooked. Leave to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
7. Once cold, whisk together the icing sugar and the milk until you have a smooth glaze. Flick this glaze over the top of the baked pastry in a decorative manner. Leave to set.
8. Cut into squares to serve. Delicious with or without ice cream!

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