#11. Apple Pie Bars

One of my duties at the bookstore where I work is to run the store's book club. At some point during my tenure I realized that cookies and books go really well together, so I've made it a tradition to bake for each meeting. It's usually a good icebreaker for new members, and it gives me an excuse to try out new recipes. Win/win! Since we're starting up again for the fall tomorrow, I thought these apple pie bars from Great Cookies would be a good seasonal option.

Unlike brownies, these bars have to be cooked and baked in layers, so it was a much more time-consuming process than I was anticipating. First I had to cook the six Granny Smith apples worth of slices that would make the filling, then bake the crust while the apples cooled. In the meantime I had to make the streusel topping. Finally, I put everything together and baked for another 25 minutes. But although it took a good chunk of my afternoon, they were actually pretty easy, and came out looking really great!

Now, a couple hours after coming out of the oven, they've chilled in the fridge and they were even easy to cut and get out of the pan. The lemon bars I made a couple of months ago that were a similar construction didn't come out nearly as well, so this is definitely progress!

Look how buttery and thick that crust is! Yum!