This is the perfect recipe to pull out after a day of apple-picking. The fresh Cortland apples I picked up from the Cider Mill on Jericho Turnpike were absolutely perfect in this recipe, and also don't forget your hot apple cider!
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped apple
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 9 inch pan.In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. In a separate large bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla to sugar mixture and blend until combined.Blend flour mixture into sugar mixture until just combined, then stir in apples and walnuts. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.In a small bowl, stir together the remaining cinnamon and sugar, and sprinkle over the top of the bars. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting into squares.
The apples soften when baked, so the squares turn out to more like very moist cake. They kind of fall apart easily, but the melt-in-your mouth cake is nicely complimented by the crunchy walnuts, which I was tempted to omit because they are so pricy, but in the end I splurged, and I am glad I did. I only used half of the bag, which is perfect because I plan on making these again very soon! Next time, I might reduce the amount the sugar, or perhaps try green apples, because they did turn out very sweet.