These cookies are a variation based on the pumpkin butter cookies published in my ebook, All About Pumpkin. Using fruit butters like pumpkin butter, apple butter, or pear butter allows us to infuse these fall cookies with flavour without the water of apple sauce, pear compote or pumpkin purée which would compromise the texture.

Ingredients To Make Fall Cookies

These apple butter cookies are a variation of my best chocolate chip cookies. Here's what you need to make these fall cookies:

• apple butter—do not confuse this with a compound butter! Apple butter is 100 % pure apple (maybe with a little sugar or spices) whereas apple compound butter is a cow's butter flavoured with apple. The two are not interchangeable!
• sugar—use mostly brown sugar with a little white granulated sugar for the most flavour and best texture
• white chocolate—I prefer to use chopped high-quality white chocolate
• pumpkin seeds—use shelled pumpkin seeds. Make sure they aren't old or rancid!
• salt—I bake with Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount to avoid making the cookies too salty
• leavening—we are using baking soda, not baking powder. Read about the difference between baking powder and baking soda if you aren't sure the difference
• flavour agents—you will need ground cinnamon and pure vanilla extract
• butter—use unsalted butter or add less salt to the recipe to make sure the cookies aren't too salty
• flour—I tested this recipe with bleached all-purpose flour, but unbleached should work too
• egg—I always use large eggs for all my recipes. If you use a different size of eggs, this may alter the texture and spread of the cookies.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and amounts.

Substitutions and Variations

These fall cookies have a simple list of ingredients, and just a few variations or substitutions are possible:

• Apple butter - you can use any fruit butter to make these cookies, like apple, pumpkin, or pear.
• Nuts - these cookies are nut-free, made with pumpkin seeds, but you can replace them with sunflower seeds or even toasted walnuts or pecans.
• Cranberries - I love dried cranberries in this fall cookie because cranberry season is late fall and early winter, but you can also use dried currants, raisins, or even chopped crystallized ginger.
• Chocolate - I think white chocolate is the best choice for these cookies, but this recipe will work with milk or dark chocolate too. You can use chips or chopped chocolate bars.

Instructions For Apple Butter Cookies

Just like most cookie recipes, these autumn cookies are made using the creaming method with a stand mixer (or a hand mixer if you prefer), though by hand with a wooden spoon is also possible if you have the energy!

Step 1—Whisk the dry ingredients in a medium bowl (image 1) to evenly incorporate the salt, spices, and leavening. Meanwhile, combine the butter and sugars in the stand mixer fitted with a paddle attached (image 2) until creamy and fluffy, then add the egg and vanilla (image 3).

Step 2—Add the apple butter to the light mixture (image 4) before stirring in the whisked dry ingredients (image 5), followed by the add-ins (chopped white chocolate, dried cranberries, and pumpkin seeds (image 6).

Step 3—The cookie dough will be thick and sticky once mixed (image 7). Use a 1-⅓-ounce disher to portion out the dough into 50-gram scoops (image 8). Chill the scoops of dough for 15 minutes before baking.

Step 3—I like to roll the chilled cookie dough scoops between the palms of my hands to smooth the surface and even them out before placing them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (image 9). Bake until set (image 10).

Storage

Store the baked cookies in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze them for longer storage.

Other Drop Cookie Recipes

Looking for other recipes like these fall drop cookies? Try these:

If you tried this recipe for fall cookies (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Fall Cookies

These fall cookies are made with apple butter, white chocolate, dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds with a little cinnamon to round it out!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 14 minutes minutes

Chill time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 18

Calories 229kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
• 1-⅓oz scoop
• Sheet pan

Ingredients

• 190 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 2.5 mL baking soda
• 2.5 mL ground cinnamon
• 115 grams unsalted butter
• 150 grams light brown sugar
• 50 grams granulated sugar
• 1 large egg(s)
• 10 mL pure vanilla extract
• 75 grams apple butter
• 130 grams white chocolate chopped
• 115 grams pumpkin seeds
• 90 grams dried cranberries

Metric - US

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line two or three large half sheet pans (13” x 18” x 1” | 33 cm x 45.5 cm x 2.5 cm) with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a big mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer), cream together the butter, the brown sugar, and the granulated sugar until it’s very light and fluffy.
• Add the egg and the vanilla, and mix well until the mixture is light and fluffy again. Then stir in the apple butter. Make sure to clean down the sides of the bowl as needed with a big spatula.
• Dump in the whisked dry ingredients, and incorporate them on low.
• Mix in the white chocolate, pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries.
• Scoop approximately 50-gram portions of the sticky dough onto one of your parchment-lined sheet pans. I like to do all the scooping at once and place them all on one of the prepared sheet pans.
• Chill the portioned out scoops of dough in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm them up, then roll them into smooth balls with the palms of your hand.
• Place 6–8 scoops per cookie sheet, spacing them apart and staggering them.
• Bake the cookies one sheet pan at a time until the edges are set and begin to brown slightly (about 14 minutes). You might want to rotate the pan partway through the baking to ensure the cookies brown evenly.
• Let the cookies cool completely on the sheet pan while you bake the second pan. Store the cookies in an airtight container once they've cooled completely.

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• This recipe works with any fruit butter, such as pumpkin, pear, or apple butter.
• Remember, fruit butters are made from fruit purée (compote or sauce) that is cooked down into a thick, concentrated spread. This is not to be confused with a compound butter made with cow's butter.
• Want to change this up?
  • Replace the dried cranberries with chopped crystallized ginger, raisins, currants, or chopped dried pear or apple
  • Replace the pumpkin seeds with toasted walnuts or pecans
  • Replace the white chocolate with milk or dark chocolate.

Nutrition

Calories: 229kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 167mg | Potassium: 107mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 177IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Fall Cookies With Cranberries, White Chocolate And Apple Butter appeared first on The Bake School.

The technique behind this recipe is what makes it extra special. Roasting the slices of apples before filling the apple pie allows you to cram over 4 pounds (2 kilos) of apples into one single 9-inch apple pie! This is a technique I also use for rhubarb pie and rhubarb crumble, allowing me to load up my fruit desserts with lots of fruit.

What You Need to Make Maple-Flavoured Apple Pie

• pie crust—I bake most of my pies with all-butter pie crust made in the food processor. You can also make pie dough by hand or use a stand mixer to make flaky crust
• apples—bake pies with the freshest apples you can get. Use apples that can withstand heat without breaking down, such as Cortland (what I generally use), Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Gala, or even Golden Delicious. Don't use Macintosh apples which will turn the filling to sauce
• maple syrup—use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup (which is flavoured corn syrup)
• maple sugar—you may need additional maple sugar to sweeten the pie filling. It depends on the apples you choose and whether they are very acidic and tart-tasting
• egg—the egg is diluted in a little water for the egg wash that you brush on the top crust before baking. This allows the turbinado or cinnamon sugar garnish to adhere to the top of the pie. You can replace it with whipping cream
• flour—we are using just a little flour as the thickener for the filling because the pre-roasted apples don't need a strong thickener
• cinnamon sugar—garnish the top crust with turbinado sugar or cinnamon sugar

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Variations And Substitutions

• Spices: Sometimes, I add a little cinnamon to the filling or a teaspoon of pumpkin pie or apple pie spice mix
• Vanilla: Sometimes, I add a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste to the filling, but you don't have to. You can also add vanilla extract instead.

How To Make Apple Pie With Roasted Apples

Start by roasting the apples because they will need to cool down completely before you make your pie!

Step 1—Combine sliced apple with maple syrup on two half-sheet pans (image 1) and roast until softened (image 2). Let cool completely, then transfer the roasted apples to a bowl and mix with flour and extra maple sugar (if using) (image 3).

Tip: Make your pie dough before roasting your apples. Then while you work on the apples, your pie dough has time to chill. By the time the apples are done baking, you will be able to roll out the dough and move on to the next steps!

Step 2—Roll out your two disks of pie crust to at least 14 inches wide on a lightly floured surface (image 4). If using a pie crust cutter like my favourite NordicWare pie tool, lay one rolled out crust over top (image 5) and use a rolling pin to roll over the crust on the cutter (image 6) to punch out the detailed pattern (image 7).

If making pie crust from scratch scares you, be sure to check out my pie crust masterclass, which includes video tutorials for making pie crust in the stand mixer, food processor, and by hand!

Step 3—Transfer the cooled apple pie filling to a pie plate lined with the bottom crust (image 8). Trim the excess of dough (image 9) before laying the top crust over the filling (image 10).

Step 4—Tuck the edges of the top crust under the bottom crust (image 11) and crimp the edge all around (image 13) before brushing the surface with egg wash and sprinkling the top with turbinado or cinnamon sugar (image 13).

Step 5—Set the pie on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan (image 14) and bake until golden brown (image 15).

Pie baking tip: Bake the pie on the bottom rack of the oven and start the pie at a high temperature to set the crust before dropping the oven temperature to evenly bake the pie from edge to edge.

Top Apple Pie Tips

As much as I love ALL pie, I hate when I bake a double-crust apple pie and when I pull it from the oven, I find that the filling has shrunk down a good inch or two from the puffed top crust, creating a big gap between the crust and the filling. How do we bake an apple pie without that big gap?

The answer is to soften the apples first. There are a few ways to do so to yield soft and pliable fruit that you can pack more tightly into a double-crust pie:

• macerate the apples in sugar (and a little lemon juice to prevent browning), like for this peach mango pie or this blueberry pie. You can then cook down the juices before filling the pie.
• roast the apples, which is a trick I also used for rhubarb lattice pie, rhubarb crisp, and even this blueberry rhubarb crisp
• poach the apples (like for this wine-poached pear pie)

For this pie, I started with 12 cups of sliced apples (that's 4 pounds of whole apples!). Yes, you read that right: TWELVE cups of apple slices. I roasted the slices for about 45 minutes. They didn't appear to have shrunk that much, but when I compared the volume of apple after baking, I realized I was left with a lot less, like 4-to-5-ish cups. That seemed just crazy to me but I had "so little"  roasted apple that when I later filled the pie plate with the apples, it filled the crust snuggly without having to make a big mound in the centre.

Imagine having to pile 12 cups of apples in a pie for a second. That'd basically be impossible had I not roasted the apples first. Perhaps the only plausible way to get all those raw apple slices into a pie would be to make a pie in a deep dish springform pan, arranging them ever so neatly to avoid any wasted space and gaps. Maybe that would work. Maybe.

APPLE PIE TIP: Roast apple slices before making pie to soften the fruit so that the filling doesn't shrink so dramatically as it bakes! You'll also be able to fill the pie with more apples this way!

Pre-cooking the apples for pie makes the perfect apple pie. The pie cuts beautifully, and there is hardly a gap between the top crust and the apple filling. The filling has an intense apple flavour that isn't masked by a thickener because there's hardly a need for a thickener here. Fine, it takes an extra hour (when you count the time to cool the apples) to prep the apples, but I think it's absolutely worth it.

Easy Decorative Pie Crust

This pie top cutter from Nordic Ware is one of my favourite pie tools! It's super handy for making a decorative top crust quickly. It's basically a giant cookie cutter designed to make a decorative pie crust. Because of its intricacy and its size, it's a little tricky to use because you have to be sure to press evenly and hard enough to cut through the dough. Make sure your rolled-out sheet of dough is cold to make cutting easier. Press firmly and evenly all over. Use a rolling pin, rolled back and forth over the plastic cutter to put even pressure all over so you cut through the dough.

Tip: Inevitably, when you make a pie, you will be left with a pile of pie dough scraps. Gather them up and press them together to shape them into a disk and use them to make pie crust cookies!

If you would prefer a more classic look, read about how to make a lattice pie crust so you can use this technique on your maple apple pie.

Other Apple Baking Recipes

While there's nothing quite like this maple syrup pie or an apple butter pie, this maple apple pie is an excellent pie to bake with fall fruit. Short on time? Try this quick and easy recipe for apple crisp or this easy apple galette instead! And for the more advanced bakers, try the classic apple tarte tatin.

If you tried this recipe for the best maple apple pie (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Maple Apple Pie

Even better than a traditional apple pie, this maple apple pie recipe is made with maple roasted apples, which are tossed with maple sugar before pouring into the pie crust and baking. 

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 1 pie

Calories 431kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Food processor
• Rolling pin
• Metal pie plate
• Pie Top Cutter

Ingredients

Apple filling

• 2 kg Cortland apple(s)
• 234 grams pure maple syrup
• 100 grams maple sugar more or less depending on how sweet your apples are (sometimes I even skip this extra sugar!)
• 30 mL bleached all-purpose flour

All-butter double pie crust

• 312 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 173 grams unsalted butter cold, cut into small chunks
• 5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 105 mL cold water

Egg wash

• 1 large egg(s) don't add it to the dough! Brush it on the pastry before baking

Metric - US

Instructions

For the filling

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Lline two half sheet pans with parchment and set aside.
• Peel and core the apples. Cut them into quarters, then cut each quarter into three.
• Place the apple slices in a big bowl with the maple syrup and toss them to evenly coat them in syrup.
• Divide the slices between the two parchment-lined half sheet pans, arranging them in a single layer. Roast the apples for about 45 minutes, rotating the pans every so often.
• Let the apples cool then toss them with the flour and the maple sugar.

For the crust

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour and salt.
• Drop in the cold butter chunks and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse almond meal. Add the cold water and pulse until the mixture forms a dough.
• Divide the dough into two, pat into disks and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 45 minutes.
• Roll out one disk on a floured surface into a 13" disk. Transfer to a metal pie dish and trim the edges to ½". I like this dark metal pie plate available on Amazon.
• Pour filling into the pie and smooth it out.
• Roll the second disk of dough and use the Nordic Ware pie crust cutter to stamp out a pattern from the top crust, then top the pie with the crust. Trim the edge to 1" then fold the excess under. Crimp the edge of the pie.
• Whisk the egg in a small bowl and brush it over the entire surface of the pie crust. Freeze the pie for 45 minutes, then bake the pie on a baking sheet on the bottom rack for 30 minutes at 400ºF, then 50 minutes at 350ºF.
• Let cool slightly before serving.

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• You can buy maple sugar in many markets and grocery stores in the New England area and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. You can also order it online from Amazon.

Nutrition

Calories: 431kcal

The post Maple Apple Pie appeared first on The Bake School.

A galette is a single-crust pie or an open-faced pie. Galettes are flatter than pies and they are usually baked on sheet pans so you don't need a pie plate or a special plate to make one. The beauty of the galette is that they are simpler and faster to make.

In this case, we are referring to an open-faced fruit pie that has a single crust with fruit arranged in the centre before baking. Galettes are made from two components: a crust and a fruit filling.

Ingredients

The beauty of the apple galette is in its simplicity. Here's what you need to make it:

• pie crust—this galette is made from an all-butter pie crust. The dough is simply flour, butter, and water, with a little salt for flavour. If you are short on time, head to your local bakery and ask them to sell you pie dough. You will need roughly 450 grams (1 pound) of pie dough for this recipe)
• apple jam—I used a homemade cinnamon apple jam but a good quality store-bought jam is also great
• apples—I used Cortland variety apples, which are a readily available baking apple in my area. These apples are not too sweet
• coarse sugar—I like to use coarse turbinado raw sugar to add crunch to the pastry edges
• milk—I brushed the pastry edge with a little milk to help the coarse sugar stick

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• Apple variety: use apples that hold their shape when baked, so Cortland, Lobo, Spartan, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, HoneyCrisp, etc. Apples like McIntosh or Empire may break down and become more saucy when baked in a galette and may not work well in this recipe.
• Apple filling: I smeared homemade cinnamon apple jam on the bottom crust before layering the sliced apple on top. The jam enhances the apple flavour of the dessert and brings a little sweetness. You can replace this with apple jelly or even apple butter!
• Cinnamon sugar: I usually sprinkle the pie crust edges with turbinado sugar, but you could also use cinnamon sugar which will give the crust more flavour!
• Glaze: I like to brush a little maple syrup over the sliced apples after baking the galette. This sweetens them and also gives them a little colour as they may look a little "anemic". You can also glaze the fruit with a neutral glaze or some melted apple jelly. Both will give the fruit more shine.

How to Make an Apple Galette with Pie Crust

While the instructions indicate to make the dough by hand, feel free to use a food processor or even a stand mixer to cut the butter into the flour. The results will be similar, though with the food processor, if you process the dough more, the butter pieces will be smaller, and your galette crust will be less flaky.

Tip: If making pie crust from scratch scares you, be sure to check out my pie crust masterclass, which includes video tutorials for making pie crust in the stand mixer, food processor, and by hand!

Step 1: Start by whisking the flour and salt together with a Danish dough whisk (image 1) before adding in the cold cubed butter (image 2). I like to toss the butter in the flour to coat all the pieces before proceeding (image 3).

Step 2: Smash each piece of butter in the flour to flatten out the pieces (image 4). You can also use a fast rubbing motion to work the butter into the flour to achieve different textures (image 5). Pour the cold water on top (image 6).

Step 3: Use the Danish dough whisk again to start to incorporate the water (image 8) but you will need to finish working the dough by hand, pressing the pieces together (image 8). Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap to chill for 30 minutes (image 9).

Step 4: Roll out the chilled dough to a round disk that has a diameter of roughly 14 inches (35.5 cm) and is approximately ⅛ inch thick (3.2 mm) on a lightly floured surface (image 10). Brush the excess of flour away with a pastry brush (image 11). Transfer the dough to a large parchment paper-lined pizza pan to chill while you prepare the apples.

Step 5: Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. Since this takes time, you may keep the apples in a bowl of acidified water (a mixture of water and lemon juice or apple cider vinegar) (image 12). When you've sliced all the apples, you can strain them and pat them dry before assembling the galette. I use a couple of sheets of paper towel to absorb the excess moisture (image 13). Spread apple jam (or jelly or apple butter) on the surface of the chilled pie crust, leaving a 1.5-inch (3.8 cm) border all the way around, then arrange the thinly sliced apples on top (image 14). Fold the crust edge right over the apples so there are no gaps between the pastry and the fruit (image 15).

Step 6: Brush the folded edge with a little milk (image 16) and sprinkle with coarse turbinado sugar (image 17) or some cinnamon sugar.

Tip: Arranging the apples into a pretty pattern can be intimidating, so feel free to just layer the sliced apples in a more disordered fashion. It doesn't really matter, though the goal is to layer them as tightly as possible so that there are fewer gaps and air pockets in between. As the apples bake, they will soften and cook down, so you want to use a lot of sliced apples to make sure the filling is generous.

Step 7: Feel free to rearrange any of the apple slices to make them neat (image 18) then bake until the pie crust is golden brown (image 19).

Optional step for finishing the galette: Brush the fruit with a glaze like melted apple jelly or a neutral glaze to add shine, or maple syrup (step 20) to add a little colour and sweetness to the decorative apples.

Apple Galette FAQs

More Delicious Apple Recipes

Take advantage of apple season and bake these other apple desserts:

If you tried this recipe for the best apple galette (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Easy Apple Galette with Pie Crust

A very simple apple galette recipe made with an all-butter pie crust and lots of sliced apples. You can give the tart a glossy finish after baking by brushing the baked fruit with a little warm apple jelly.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Chill time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 365kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Sheet pan
• Rolling pin
• Pastry brush

Ingredients

• 250 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 170 grams unsalted butter cold, cut into little cubes
• 60 mL cold water
• 3 Cortland apple(s) I used large apples but if your apples are smaller, you might need 5 apples to fill the galette
• 125 mL apple jam
• 15 mL skim milk (fat free)
• Turbinado sugar for sprinkling over the crust before baking

Metric - US

Instructions

• Whisk the flour and salt together in a large bowl before adding in the cold cubed butter. You can use a Danish dough whisk or a fork for this.
• Toss the butter into the bowl of the flour and stir to coat all the pieces. Smash each piece of butter in the flour to flatten out the pieces between your fingertips. You can also use a fast rubbing motion to work the butter into the flour between your palms to achieve different textures.
• Pour the cold water on top and use your fork or your Danish dough whisk to start to incorporate the water. You will need to finish working the dough by hand, pressing the pieces together.
• Press all the bits together into a somewhat cohesive mass, flatten it into a disk and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Roll out the chilled dough to a 14–15-inch disk (35.5–38 cm). Transfer the disk to a parchment paper-lined sheet pan or pizza pan and chill while you prepare the apples.
• Peel, core, and slice apples as thinly as possible with a knife. This task can take some time: you may want to place the peeled and sliced apples in a bowl of lemon water to make sure the fruit doesn't brown.
• Take the rolled dough out of the fridge, and remove the top sheet of parchment. Brush the apple jam over the crust leaving 1–1.5 inches of crust bare (2.5–3.8 cm).
• Top the apple jam with the sliced apples arranging them in concentric circles to make it pretty and still keeping the 1–1.5-inch edge bare (2.5–3.8 cm).
• Gently fold over the bare crust over towards the middle to make a rustic edge. With your palms, press and push the fold towards the middle a little to “tighten” the galette.
• Brush the crust with milk and sprinkle with the crust coarse sugar.
• Bake for 20 minutes then lower the oven to 375 °F (190 °C) and bake for another 30–40 minutes until the crust is golden brown delicious and the apples are soft.
• Let cool about 20 minutes before serving

Notes

• Apple variety: use apples that hold their shape when baked, so Cortland, Lobo, Spartan, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, HoneyCrisp, etc. Apples like McIntosh or Empire may break down and become more saucy when baked in a galette and may not work well in this recipe.
• Apple filling: I smeared homemade cinnamon apple jam on the bottom crust before layering the sliced apple on top. The jam enhances the apple flavour of the dessert and brings a little sweetness. You can replace this with apple jelly or even apple butter!
• Cinnamon sugar: I usually sprinkle the pie crust edges with turbinado sugar, but you could also use cinnamon sugar which will give the crust more flavour!
• Salt: This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• Glaze: I like to brush a little maple syrup over the sliced apples after baking the galette. This sweetens them and also gives them a little colour as they may look a little "anemic". You can also glaze the fruit with a neutral glaze or some melted apple jelly. Both will give the fruit more shine.

Nutrition

Calories: 365kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 87mg | Potassium: 132mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 572IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Apple Galette With Pie Crust appeared first on The Bake School.

This apple butter pie is packed with flavour because apple butter is so concentrated. Using apple butter is a trick I use in many apple recipes to give them more apple flavour without adding excess moisture, like in these apple cupcakes or this apple butter cake. It also makes a great filling in these stuffed apple pie scones.

If you've never made pie crust before, please read about how to make an all-butter pie crust in the food processor. This pie crust is easy with simple ingredients and holds its shape when baked.

You don't need too many tools to make a pie, thankfully, and if you don't want to use a food processor to make the dough, you can make pie dough in a stand mixer if you prefer, or just use a bowl and your fingertips! All roads lead to pie.

Apple Butter Pie Ingredients

Like pumpkin pie, this apple butter pie is made from an all-butter pie crust with a custard filling, meaning it is made with cream and eggs, which help it set into a creamy but sliceable pie.

• flour, preferably bleached all-purpose flour
• sugar—granulated and light brown sugar, as well as a little maple syrup
• butter, preferably unsalted butter. If using salted butter, you may want to cut back on the salt in the pie crust recipe
•  Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• eggs, preferably large eggs otherwise your filling might not set properly
• apple butter
• spices, specifically a combination of warm spices, including ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves
• cream, specifically whipping cream (with 35 % fat content)—lower fat cream may result in a looser filling that is less rich

Please refer to the recipe card for exact quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

With its simple list of ingredients, changes to this recipe are limited obviously, but here are a few to consider:

• Pie crust: instead of making pie crust from scratch, you can use a pre-made all-butter pie crust from your local bakery. You may be able to find a crust that is already rolled out
• Spices—instead of a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, you can replace these with a pumpkin spice mix that you like or even an apple pie spice mix.
• Apple butter—you can use homemade apple butter or store-bought. If you can't find apple butter and don't want to make it, your best bet would be to replace it with canned pumpkin and make a pumpkin pie instead

How to Make Pie with an Apple Butter Filling

The process of making a pie with an apple butter filling is similar to making a pumpkin pie! It's quite easy!

If you are unfamiliar with pie crust, please read this post about how to make pie crust in the food processor, which includes step-by-step photos of the process.

If making pie crust from scratch scares you, be sure to check out my pie crust masterclass, which includes video tutorials for making pie crust in the stand mixer, food processor, and by hand!

Alternatively, you could use a store-bought pie crust for this recipe if you are short on time.

Step 1: Combine the ingredients of the apple butter pie filling in a medium bowl using a small balloon whisk. I like to first mix the eggs and brown sugar together (image 1), then incorporate the apple butter and spices (image 2), and finally the cream (image 3). Whisk until completely smooth (image 4). Cover the bowl and set aside the filling for later.

Step 2: Par-bake the pie crust in a metal pie plate on a sheet pan, lining the chilled unbaked crust with parchment paper (image 5) and pie weights or beans. Bake the pie crust until the edges are set (image 6), then remove the pie weights and parchment (image 7), and continue baking until the bottom of the pie looks dry (image 8).

Step 3: Brush the parbaked crust with egg wash to seal it as soon as it comes out of the oven (image 9), then fill the pie (image 10) and smooth the top with a mini offset spatula (image 11).

Step 5: Bake the pie at 375 °F on a sheet pan (image 12) until the pie has set and the centre still jiggles slightly (image 13).

Step 6 (optional): You can decorate the pie before serving using a stencil and icing sugar. Chill the pie completely (image 14), then place a stencil over the filling (image 15) and dust lightly with icing sugar before carefully removing the stencil (image 16).

Apple Butter Pie FAQs

If you are looking for a pumpkin pie alternative for Thanksgiving dinner, this apple butter pie is a welcome change, but not a total deviation. It would be great served alongside this gorgeous maple apple pie. And for those who insist on following tradition, you can still make a more traditional pumpkin pie without evaporated milk.

More Pie Recipes to Try

If you love to bake (and eat) pies, here are a few more pie recipes to try:

If you tried this apple butter pie recipe (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Apple Butter Pie

Apple butter pie is a great pumpkin pie alternative for Thanksgiving dinner. It's made just like an easy pumpkin pie from scratch, with an all butter crust you make in a food processor.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 456kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Food processor
• Metal pie plate
• Rolling pin
• OXO balloon whisk

Ingredients

Easy all butter pie dough

• 258 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 10 mL granulated sugar
• 173 grams unsalted butter cut into cubes, cold
• 83 mL cold water

Egg wash

• 1 large egg(s)
• 5 mL water
• 1 pinch Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt

Apple butter pie filling

• 3 large egg(s)
• 100 grams light brown sugar
• 60 mL pure maple syrup
• 480 grams apple butter
• 5 mL ground cinnamon
• 2.5 mL ground ginger
• 1.25 mL ground nutmeg
• 0.625 mL ground cloves
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 188 mL whipping cream (35 % fat)

Metric - US

Instructions

All-butter pie crust

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour with the salt and sugar. Add the butter and pulse to form a coarse crumble with butter lumps.
• Add the water, and pulse to combine. You can continue to run the processor to form a ball of dough or do this on your work surface by hand.
• Divide the dough into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour.
• Roll out the first disk of dough to about a 12 inch diameter disk or so on a floured surface with a rolling pin. Transfer to a metal pie plate and make sure to work the dough into the corner edges of the pie plate. Trim the edges and place the pie shell in the fridge.
• Roll out the second disk of dough to a very long rectangle that is about 15 inches long and ⅛ inch thin. Cut thin strips of dough, then braid the strips together, three at a time.  
• If you don't want a braided edge, you can cut out some leaf shapes (or apple shapes!) with the dough instead.

Egg wash

• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg with the water and salt.
• Brush the edges of the chilled pie shell with the egg wash, then press the braids (or cutout shapes) to the brushed edges to stick them onto the edge. You can weave the ends of the braids together for a seamless look.
• Place the pie shell in the fridge and chill for 20 minutes.
  
• Make sure you have the bottom oven rack set at the lowest position. Preheat the oven to 425 ºF (220 °C).
• Line the chilled pie crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
• Bake the pie crust for 20 minutes until the edges are set.
• Remove the pie shell from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Carefully lift off the parchment with the pie weights. Set aside. Put the pie shell back in the oven and continue to bake for another 3–5 minutes until the bottom looks dry and set. The edges will be a light golden brown.

Make the filling and bake the pie

• Drop the oven temperature to 375 °F (190 °C).
• In a large bowl, whisk together all the apple butter pie filling ingredients. When the pie shell has chilled, carefully pour the pie filling into the shell.
• Place the pie in the oven and bake until the edges of the filling are set but the centre still jiggles a little (this takes 35 to 45 minutes). The crust will be deep golden brown and the pie filling will finish setting as it cools. 
• Place the baked pie on a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
• Optionally, you can stencil the top with a decorative pattern using a doily and a dusting of icing sugar

Notes

• For the pie crust, I used a Cuisinart 11-cup food processor. I quite like it. You can find it on Amazon.
• I like to bake my pies in a metal pie dish, like this dark metal pie plate available on Amazon or a USA pie pan (my new favourite pie pan!). The metal is a good heat conductor so the pie crust heats up fast and bakes to a lovely golden brown colour.
• Par-baking the pie crust before filling with the apple butter pie filling ensures the crust is properly baked and golden brown on the bottom.
• I used Eden organic apple butter for the filling, which you can find on Amazon or at organic food stores in Canada. If you are in the US, you might have an easier time finding Musselman's apple butter on Amazon, but note that Musselman's apple butter may be sweeter.
• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• To achieve the look you see in the photos, I stencilled a lace pattern onto the surface of the pie by gently placing a piece of lace on the surface of the pie and dusting it generously with powdered sugar.

Nutrition

Calories: 456kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 162mg | Potassium: 156mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 818IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Apple Butter Pie appeared first on The Bake School.

Apple butter is my secret ingredient for adding a strong, highly concentrated apple flavour to baked goods without adding any water to a recipe. It's a much more efficient way of adding apples without diluting flavour or messing with cake batter ratios, thus avoiding gummy textures that can come from adding fresh chopped fruit.

I've baked with apple butter to flavour apple cakes— like in this apple butter cake recipe; in scones—slathered inside to make the most delicious apple pie scones; and I've also used it in pie filling in this gorgeous apple butter pie, which makes a great alternative to Thanksgiving pumpkin tarts and maple apple pie.

These mini spiced apple cupcakes are flavoured with apple butter and cinnamon for a truly fall flavour, and topped with a cream cheese frosting that tastes like cheesecake. Yes, I really did pipe dollops of frosting that are practically the size of the cupcakes themselves. You will understand why when you make this frosting.

Ingredients and Substitutions

These moist apple cinnamon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are made from simple ingredients that you likely have on hand. Still, there are a few things to note:

• butter—this recipe was developed with unsalted butter. If you prefer to use salted butter, you may have to adjust the amount of salt added to ensure the apple cakes aren't too salty.
• flour—I bake with bleached all-purpose flour, but unbleached should work too and give similar results.
• salt—I bake with Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount to avoid the cupcakes being too salty.
• brown sugar—you can use light or dark brown sugar, or even regular white sugar (though the cakes won't be as flavourful as with brown sugar).
• apple butter—this is not to be confused with apple sauce! Apple sauce has much more water and may make the cupcakes too wet or gummy, and hard to bake through properly. Use apple butter! You could also replace the apple butter with pear butter or pumpkin butter.
• cream cheese—use full-fat cream cheese sold in blocks, not whipped or spreadable cream cheese. The texture of the frosting won't be the same with cream cheese spreads.

Please see the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and exact quantities.

How To Make Apple Spice Cupcakes

To make these mini apple cupcakes quickly and easily, we use the two-bowl mixing method, like many muffins and quick breads. Here's how to make these spiced apple cupcakes:

Step 1—Start by browning the butter in a small saucepan (image 1) so that it can cool before you make the spiced apple cupcake batter. Please read about how to make brown butter if you've never made it.

Step 1—Once the brown butter has cooled, you can whisk together the dry ingredients (image 2) separately from the wet ingredients (image 3) before combining them to make a smooth batter.

Step 3—I baked the cupcakes in mini muffin pans lined with mini cupcake liners (image 4), but you could also make full size cupcakes.

Step 4—After the cupcakes have cooled, top them with thick cream cheese frosting and garnish with graham cracker crumbs (image 5).

Tip: Remember to make the best cream cheese frosting, you need to first mix the butter and icing sugar before adding the cream cheese. Read all about thick cream cheese frosting with less sugar if you've never made it this way before!

Tips For Thick Cream Cheese Frosting That Is Stable And Pipeable

Without resorting to adding an excess amount of icing sugar, to make a thicker cream cheese frosting that can be used to frost a cake or decorate cupcakes, the solution is simple: change the order you mix your ingredients in:

Step 1: Cream the butter with the icing sugar first, thereby coating all the little sugar molecules with fat (I have no proof that this really happens, but my brain thinks it works like this, so bear with me!)

Step 2: Once the butter and icing sugar are well mixed, THEN you add in the COLD cream cheese. The sugar is coated with fat, therefore making it more difficult to draw out the moisture from the cold cream cheese. The cream cheese remains intact, and no water leeches out.

By following this mixing order, you can make a frosting with significantly less sugar. In fact, you end up with a frosting that tastes a lot like cheesecake, not overly sweet! At this point, you should be really excited for the recipe.

Once you have mastered this thick, pipeable cream cheese frosting recipe, you will see that it is so thick that you can use this cream cheese frosting to make layer cakes, like this berry chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting and this cardamom cranberry layer cake with cream cheese frosting, so you know it's good because this cream cheese frosting works great in layer cakes too without the risk of sliding layers and weeping frosting!

Frosting Alternatives

Another option for a thick cream cheese frosting is this white chocolate cream cheese frosting that is sweetened with melted white chocolate instead of icing sugar!

Apple Cupcake Baking FAQs

Other Apple Recipes

Take advantage of fall when apples are at their peak (and more affordable too!). Try these other apple dessert recipes:

If you tried this recipe for the best apple cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Apple Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These mini cupcakes are flavoured with apple butter and cinnamon for a truly fall flavour, and topped with a thick cream cheese frosting that is pipeable and tastes like cheesecake

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Total Time 42 minutes minutes

Servings 54

Calories 143kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• OXO balloon whisk
• ¾ oz scoop
• Mini muffin pan
• 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
• Piping bags

Ingredients

Apple cupcake ingredients

• 170 grams unsalted butter
• 287 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 7.5 mL baking soda
• 7.5 mL ground cinnamon
• 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 250 mL apple butter
• 188 mL yogurt (2 % fat)
• 133 grams light brown sugar
• 2 large egg(s)

Frosting ingredients

• 250 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• 200 grams icing sugar divided
• 500 grams Philadelphia cream cheese (full fat, regular) cold

Optional for decorating

• graham cracker crumbs

Metric - US

Instructions

To make the cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line a 24 mini cupcake pan with mini baking cups (find them on Amazon.
• Brown the butter in a small saucepan until the foam subsides, the milk solids brown, and the butter gives off a delightful nutty aroma. If you've never done this before, read about how to make brown butter.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the apple butter, yogurt, sugar, and eggs. Add this mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and gently whisk to incorporate. When you just have a few dry lumps of flour left, add the melted butter, and finish mixing (with a wooden spoon, if necessary).
• Fill the liners ¾ full with the batter. I recommend using a ¾-ounce scoop (specifically this purple handled scoop on Amazon) for this.
• Bake the cupcakes for about 12 to 14 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool a couple minutes in the pan before carefully transferring to a wire rack. Line the pan again, then scoop and bake again until you've finished all the cake batter.

To make the frosting

• When the cupcakes are cooled, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the softened butter with half the icing sugar. The mixture will be crumbly. Continue beating until creamy.
• Add all the cream cheese at once and beat it in. Then add the remaining icing sugar to sweeten/loosen up the frosting.

To finish

• Frost the cooled spice cupcakes by piping a generous dollop on each (I used a big 20 mm round tip, but you can just cut the end of a piping bag to the desired diameter). If using, top with a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs just before serving.

Notes

For this recipe, I used:

• apple butter, not apple sauce! Apple butter has much less water than apple sauce and so they are not interchangeable.
• brown sugar in the cupcakes (light or dark works) but you could use white sugar
• yogurt though sour cream will also work (full fat or low fat)
• Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount or the cakes may be too salty.
• Philidelphia cream cheese sold in blocks. Each block weighs 250 grams (0.55 lb). Do not use whipped or spreadable cream cheese in the frosting.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 143kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 93mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 332IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Spiced Apple Cupcakes With Thick Cream Cheese Frosting appeared first on The Bake School.

Jam-making and preserving are usually reserved for the spring and summer months and revolve around the usual rhubarb jam (no pectin, jalapeño jam, strawberry jam, and blueberry jam. Winter is typically for marmalades, whether orange marmalade, grapefruit, lime marmalade, or a combination like this three-fruit marmalade. But what about autumn?

In the fall, I like to make plum jam and cinnamon apple jam, which tastes like apple pie in a jar. It's the perfect ode to fall. It tastes amazing dolloped on toast, slathered with salted butter. You can also use it under the sliced apples in this puff pastry apple tart or this apple galette!

Key Ingredients

You don't need much to make apple jam. Here's what you need:

• apples—use apples that hold their shape when cooked for a jam with more texture (like Cortlands, HoneyCrisp, Gala, or Golden Delicious) or use apples that break down when heated for a smoother effect (like McIntosh apples)
• sugar—you can use white granulated sugar or brown sugar for more flavour or a combination
• spices and flavours—I like to use whole spices to flavour jams so I can fish them out before transferring it to jars. For this apple jam, I used cinnamon sticks, star anise, a vanilla bean, and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• lemon juice—I use fresh lemon juice, but bottled will work

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• Apple variety—for an apple jam with distinct apple pieces, use Cortlands, Russets, HoneyCrisp, Gala, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith varieties. They hold their shape, even with extensive cooking. For a more saucy, spreadable texture, use McIntosh apples or a variety that is good for sauce.
• Spices—use your favourite warm whole spices so you can remove them later before transferring to jars. I love to infuse apple jam with cinnamon sticks, vanilla bean, or even star anise!
• Apple-pear jam—you can replace half the weight of apple with pears.

How to Make Apple Jam Without Pectin

The most challenging part of this recipe is prepping the apples. It's a little tedious and takes time, but it's worth it because the rest of the recipe is quick and easy!

Step 1: Since you have quite a bit of diced apple to prep and chop, it's best to place the peeled and/or diced apple in a bowl of lemon water to prevent the fruit from browning (image 1). Once you've diced all the apple, you can drain it and combine it with the other ingredients (sugar, spices, and lemon juice) (image 2). Heat the mixture to dissolve the sugar (image 3), then take it off the heat and place a round of parchment directly over the fruit (image 4). Let everything macerate for a few hours or overnight.

Step 2: After macerating overnight, the liquid in the pot will be darker in colour, but the fruit will still be light (image 5). Bring the mixture to a boil and heat it until syrupy (image 6).

Note: if you boil the apple jam to 220 °F (the jam setting point for most jams), the jam will gel like a jelly and be very thick after 24 hours. For this jam, you may prefer to heat to below the setting point to create a more syrupy jam.

Step 3: I like to use a masher to break down some of the apple chunks to create a more spreadable texture (image 7). Some prefer to go so far as using an immersion blender to blend the jam. Transfer the jam to sterilized jars using a non-reactive funnel (image 8).

Note: this makes a small batch of jam so you can store it in the fridge. If you prefer to seal the jars, fill them to ¼ inch from the top before closing them and boiling them in a canning pot immersed in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Top Jam-Making Tip

One of the easiest ways to make sure your jam will set properly when it cools is to check the jam temperature to make sure you achieve the jam setting temperature, also known as the jam setting point. Using a thermometer and a home canning kit will make your life infinitely easier if you are going to make a lot of homemade jams.

For this jam, boiling to the set point will likely yield a jam that is gelled like a jelly, so you may want to go below that. Dollop a spoonful of jam onto a frozen saucer to check the set as it's cooking so you can boil it to the desired texture.

Other Apple Recipes

Everybody loves baked goods made with apples. They are so comforting! For something a little different, try this apple butter pie or this maple apple pie. And if you want a big cake to serve a crowd, make this apple bundt cake served with salted caramel.

If you are short on time or for a weeknight dessert, this apple crisp is always well-received! And if you live alone, you can still make an apple crisp for one in 2 minutes of cooking time!

If you tried this recipe for the best cinnamon apple jam (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Cinnamon Apple Jam

Learn how to make the best apple jam with this easy recipe, flavoured with cinnamon, vanilla bean, star anise, and nutmeg.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Maceration 1 day day

Total Time 1 day day 35 minutes minutes

Servings 50 tablespoons

Calories 48kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Big pot
• ChefAlarm thermometer
• Canning kit
• Mason jars

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg Cortland apple(s) such as Cortland apples, peeled, cored and diced or sliced thinly
• 200 grams granulated sugar
• 250 grams light brown sugar
• 52.5 mL fresh lemon juice
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 cinnamon stick(s)
• 2 star anise
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg

Metric - US

Instructions

• Combine the apples with the sugar, lemon juice, and spices in a pot. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar.
• Transfer the mixture to a container, top with parchment, and store in the fridge overnight.
• The next day, place the apple jam mixture into a pot and heat on medium-high. Cook the mixture until it thickens, stirring often.
• Take the pot off the heat, and let stand for 5 minutes, stirring every so often. Remove the spices and vanilla bean.
• Transfer the mixture to sterilized jars, leaving a ¼-inch headspace. Process for 10 minutes in a water canner, then let rest 5 minutes in the canner before transferring jars to a towel-lined tray. Let stand overnight, undisturbed.

Notes

• For the apples, if you use an apple variety that breaks down when cooked (like McIntosh), the jam will be more smooth, whereas if you use an apple variety that holds its shape when cooked (like Cortlands or Honeycrisp), your apple jam will have more texture.
• You can dice or slice the apples, depending on the texture you want.
• Weigh the prepared apple after removing the peel and the core. Use up to half the weight of apples in sugar. I started with 1.2 kg of fresh apples, which yielded 1 kg after peeling and removing the core, so I used 450 grams of sugar.
• This jam is quite sweet and you could use slightly less sugar, especially if you are using a sweet apple variety. But remember less sugar may impact the texture and the shelf life.
• For the spices, use whole spices if you can so that you can have a beautiful jam without any murkiness from ground spices. You can use any spices you like. I prefer warm autumn spices, mainly cinnamon sticks.
• For the sugar, you can use granulated sugar, brown sugar, or a combination of the two. Brown sugar will impart more flavour.
• Use a thermometer (like the ChefAlarm) to help you know how close you are to the jam setting point. For this jam, boiling to the setting point will result in a gelled jam, much like jelly, whereas heating to under the setting point will result in a more fluid, syrupy, soft-set jam.
• This recipe makes about 3x 250 mL (1-cup) jars but make sure to sterilize a few extra just in case. The yield depends entirely on how much water you boil off!

Nutrition

Calories: 48kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 34mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 13IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.1mg

This recipe was adapted from Preservation Society Home Preserves, which is available to purchase from Amazon.

The post Cinnamon Apple Jam (no pectin) appeared first on The Bake School.

Ingredients

This easy apple tart has four basic components:

1. the base: a sheet of puff pastry
2. the filling: apple compote, like a chunky apple sauce made from a dry caramel and chopped apples
3. the topping: thinly sliced apples
4. the glaze: maple syrup (adds sweetness and flavour without shine) or melted apple jelly (the classic glaze, adds shine and sweetness and more apple flavour)

To make this easy apple dessert, you will need:

• lots of apples (5 to 7 medium–large apples)—choose apples that are good for baking, like Cortland, Golden Delicious, Honey Crisp, or any apple that tastes good and doesn't break down when heated
• sugar—use granulated sugar that you can caramelize on the stove into a golden amber syrup that is full of flavour
• butter—use unsalted butter, though salted could work as we aren't using much in this recipe
• puff pastry—homemade or store-bought, though for something like this, I'd opt for the convenience of store-bought. Just make sure it's an all-butter puff pastry.
• maple syrup or melted apple jelly—the glaze brushed on the apples after baking the tart

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Of course, you can use homemade puff pastry for this recipe, but that can be quite time-consuming. And for something like this, I prefer the convenience of a roll of frozen puff pastry from the local baker. They sell it in rolled up sheets that are so convenient. Just make sure that it's an all-butter pastry so that it's more flavourful.

How to Make a Puff Pastry Apple Tart

This is a French apple tart with puff pastry, apple compote, and sliced apples. There are three components to this dessert (not counting the glaze) and so there are three major steps involved in the preparation:

1. Preparing the puff pastry crust
2. Making a dry caramel to cook the apple compote filling
3. Assembling the tart with sliced apples on top before baking

Working with puff pastry

Whether you roll out a block of puff pastry with a rolling pin, or unroll a sheet, you will want to trim it to fit your sheet pan. I used a pound of puff pastry dough to fit a 10x15 sheet pan lined with parchment.

Docking the sheet of puff pastry before topping it is going to help stop the dough from puffing out of control in the oven. When the puff pastry bakes, steam will form between the layers of dough as the butter melts. The holes will help release some of that gas so that the pastry bakes flat.

Of course, the weight of the toppings also helps weigh down the puff pastry, but it's not enough weight to prevent the dough from puffing in the oven. Keep an eye on the tart as it bakes and if you ever notice a section puffing upward too much, take a pairing knife to pierce the bubble before the pastry sets.

Also, don't forget that puff pastry needs to be kept cold. So always keep the dough in the fridge when you aren't working with it.

How to Make an Apple Tart with Puff Pastry

Note: By making a dry caramel, you may discover you have less issues with the sugar crystallizing than methods that start with water. While crystallization is less of an issue here, the caramel is more prone to burning and smoking, so be aware of that.

Step 1: Start by making the dry caramel. Melt the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat (image 1). The sugar will melt gradually into a fluid, clear syrup of pure melted sugar (image 2) until all the sugar has melted and begins to caramelize (image 3). Add the butter last to melt it into the caramel and "deglaze" the pan (image 4).

Step 2: Add the diced apple to the pan of caramel (image 5) and cook the apples so that they release water (image 6). Continue cooking the apples, stirring fairly often until the apples are translucent (image 7). I like to continue to cook the compote until the apples begin to break down and there is no water left (image 8). Cooking the apple filling removes the water from the filling, which boils off. This helps ensure that your puff pastry will be nice and crispy, not soggy.

Tip: Use an apple that can stand up to direct heat. I like to use Cortland apples because you can cook them without them completely breaking down. This way the compote has a little more texture to it.

Step 3: Assembly is easy and the fun part of this recipe. All you have to do is set the rolled-out pastry on a rimmed baking sheet (10x15-inch sheet pan or a half sheet pan). Dock the pastry with a fork to create steam vents and smear the puff pastry from edge-to-edge with apple compote (image 9) and layer the sliced apples (image 10). Make sure that you create an even layer of apple, either arranging them decoratively or in even rows. Make sure the compote is completely covered.

Hint: Use a mandoline to slice the apples into perfectly even slices, but be very careful and use a guard to protect your fingertips! Use the finger guard that comes with your mandoline to avoid hurting yourself

Step 4: Take the time to arrange your apple slices so that they line up nicely in neat rows or in a more haphazard, but intentional layer. The goal is to cover the entire tart, from edge-to-edge with a perfectly even layer of apples (image 11). Spend time on this step to make it look nice! Then bake the tart until the crust is golden brown and cooked through (image 12).

Tip: I like to brush maple syrup, honey, or melted apple jelly over the cooked fruit to bring a little colour and sweetness to them. Use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to do this

Top Puff Pastry Tip

Dock the pastry with a fork before topping with compote and fruit. The holes allow steam to escape and also prevent larger air bubbles from forming which will cause the crust to rise up unevenly in the oven as the tart bakes.

Storage

Apple tarts made with puff pastry are best eaten the day they are baked. Like most recipes with puff pastry, they don't store well. It won't go bad quickly, but the crispy puff pastry crust will soften after a day. The texture and flaky pastry eating experience will be different if stored overnight, for example.

I don't think this tart would freeze well either. It's best baked and eaten on the same day. You could experiment with freezing it unbaked and baking from frozen, but I haven't tested this.

Serving Suggestions

While Americans tend to serve apple pie with vanilla ice cream, French apple tarts aren't usually topped with anything. But I won't judge you if you feel like serving this easy apple dessert to your guests à la mode! This cardamom ice cream would be great or in the fall, this pumpkin ice cream!

Other Apple Desserts

If you love apple tarts, be sure to check out this delicious apple tarte tatin or this easy apple galette made with pie crust.

If you tried this recipe for the best puff pastry apple tart (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Puff Pastry Apple Tart

Learn how to make a puff pastry apple tart with this easy recipe. You can make it with a sheet of store-bought puff pastry, and then top it with a caramel apple compote and sliced apples. This tart is cut into squares like a slab pie!

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 442kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• Rolling pin
• 10x15 sheet pan
• Pastry brush
• Mandoline

Ingredients

Apple compote

• 75 grams granulated sugar
• 30 grams unsalted butter
• 3 Cortland apple(s) peeled, cored, and diced

Tart assembly

• 450 grams all-butter puff pastry defrosted in the fridge overnight
• 3 Cortland apple(s) sliced thinly (you can either peel and core the apples before slicing or slice them whole for a more artistic look)

Glaze

• 30 mL pure maple syrup or melted apple jelly

Metric - US

Instructions

Apple compote

• Place a medium saucepan on the stove over medium heat.
• Sprinkle the bottom of the pan with granulated sugar and heat the sugar until it is completely melted and clear, tilting and swirling the pan as necessary to keep the granulated sugar/melted sugar moving so that it doesn't scorch unevenly.
• Once the sugar is all melted, continue cooking until the syrup colours and turns a golden amber colour.
• Take the pan off the heat and add the butter, swirling carefully to melt and incorporate it.
• Add the diced apple, and using a wooden spoon, stir to evenly coat in caramel.
• Place the pot back on the stove and cook the compote on medium heat until the apples soften, become translucent, and begin to break down a little.
• Take the pan off the heat, and transfer the compote to a bowl. Refrigerate until cold.

Tart assembly

• Preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Line a 10x15 inch (25x38 cm) sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Using a rolling pin, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the cold puff pastry to fit the pan from edge to edge (or almost). It doesn't have to be too exact and if you are using a pre-rolled sheet of puff pastry, it may already fit depending on the brand.
• Using a fork, dock (a.k.a. prick) the pastry all over to allow steam and air to escape while it bakes.
• Dollop and spread the cold apple compote from edge to edge to coat the pastry dough.
• Arrange the thinly sliced apple evenly on the apple compote, from edge to edge.
• Bake until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. You may rotate the pan once during baking to make sure the tart browns evenly. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out.

  The tart should take about 45 minutes to bake.

Glaze

• As soon as the tart comes out of the oven, set the pan on a cooling rack.
• Brush the sliced apple topping with maple syrup (or melted apple jelly) to coat all of the fruit with a thin layer.
• Let cool completely, then cut into 8 squares and serve immediately.

Notes

You may need more or less sliced apples, depending on their size, in order to completely cover the tart with an even layer of fruit. Better to slice a little extra and snack on the leftovers, rather than run out!

For the photo, I sliced whole apples (with the peel) to arrange on the top of the tart, but you can also core and peel the apples for a more traditional, neater look. Aim to slice the apples quite thin, around 3/16 inch (0.5 cm) thick.

To prevent the sliced and diced apples from browning, you can store them in a bowl of lemon water as you prep all the apples. When you are ready to use them, drain them well.

Nutrition

Calories: 442kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 142mg | Potassium: 190mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 168IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Puff Pastry Apple Tart appeared first on The Bake School.

I am a firm believer that apples are great for more than just pie. Sure, you will love this maple apple pie, but sometimes pie is a little too much effort for the time you've got! For those times, an apple crisp, an apple crumb cake are great options, or even this apple crumble cake, like an apple crisp but in cake form. If you want to serve a crowd, the apple bundt cake recipe below is a great option!

Ingredients

If you want to bake an apple cake in a bundt pan, you will need more ingredients than for a smaller cake, but the ingredients are simple enough and you likely have them all in your pantry and fridge! Here's what you need:

• flour—I used bleached all-purpose flour, though unbleached should be fine
• spices—ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
• leavening agents—you will need both baking powder and baking soda. Read about baking powder versus soda if you are unsure what the difference is
• salt—this recipe was tested with Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt, which is less salty than regular table salt. If using regular salt, please use half the amount or the cake will be too salty
• butter—this recipe was developed with unsalted butter. If using salted butter, you may want to scale back the amount of salt you add to the dry ingredients
• sugar—you can use granulated or brown sugar (light or dark). I used light brown and granulated sugar
• eggs—use large eggs
• vanilla—this recipe calls for a full tablespoon of pure vanilla extract. If using artificial, you may want to add less to avoid overpowering the apple cake
• sour cream—please use full fat sour cream (14% fat) to create a moist, flavourful bundt cake
• apples—use your favourite baking apple that holds its shap. I used Cortland apples.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• If you need a sour cream alternative, try a full-fat plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt, preferably with 9–10 % fat. Regular yogurt with a high fat content may work as well.
• For the spices, you can play around with your own combination of warm spices, like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, mace, etc. or you can try a pumpkin pie spice mix or an apple pie spice blend. Simply replace the total volume of spices with the mix.

Best Apples for Baking a Cake

If you go apple picking and you have many varieties to choose from, try to decide what you plan on making with your apples. Buy or pick the right apple varieties for what you intend to do with them:

• get McIntosh, Empire, or Lobo apples if you plan to make applesauce (these apples are also great for snacking on)
• get Cortland apples, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith if you want to make pies and cakes

For something like an apple crisp, I like to use a mixture of apples, and honestly, most apples will work out just fine in that kind of recipe. For an apple cake like this bundt cake, I bake with apples that aren't too watery and that hold their shape when cooked, which is why I like to use Cortlands for this recipe.

Check out this apple tarte tatin recipe where I show how different the apple texture is when you make the recipe with Cortland apples versus Honeycrisp!

Bundt Cake 1-2-3-4 Ratio

Bundt cake recipes are easy to remember because they follow the baking ratio 1:2:3:4, by volume: to make enough batter to fill a 10–12 cup bundt pan, use 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, and 4 eggs. You'll also want to add 1 cup of liquid (like milk or buttermilk) to thin out the batter or you could also use 1.5 cups of sour cream, as in the recipe below, which provides both moisture, acidity, and a little extra fat, which means your cake will have a great texture and it will store well.

For bundt cakes, the creaming mixing method is best because it allows you to incorporate air, mechanically, when you cream together the butter and the sugar for several minutes until it's light and fluffy. This way you aren't only relying on chemical leaveners, like baking powder and baking soda. And because we are making a large cake here, it's best to use a stand mixer like a 5 quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer, or even a 6 quart KitchenAid Professional mixer. Either of these models are big enough to make a bundt.

How to Make an Apple Bundt Cake

In this section, we will go through the step-by-step process of making the apple bundt cake. If you need more guidance for the caramel sauce (including photos), please visit this detailed post about how to make salted caramel sauce.

Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl (image 1) and peel, core, and dice the apples (image 2) before starting the cake batter so that they are ready to go.

Tip: You can store the diced apple in a bowl of acidified water (water with a splash of lemon juice or vinegar) to prevent browning. Drain and pat them dry really well before folding them into the cake batter.

Step 2: Cream the butters and the sugars using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer (image 3), then add the eggs one at a time (image 4), beating the mixture really well after every addition so it's light and fluffy (image 5). Stir in the flour, alternating with the sour cream before folding in the apples (image 6)

Step 3: Transfer the apple cake batter to a buttered and floured bundt cake pan (image 7) and bake until golden brown on the edges. A cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake will come out clean (image 8).

Step 4: Let the bundt cool for 10-20 minutes to firm up before flipping onto a wire rack (image 9). Let the cake cool completely before icing or glazing (image 10).

Top Baking Tips for Bundt Cakes

Preparing the Pan

Since bundt pans often have intricate designs that lead to many nooks and crannies in the cake pan, it's very important to take the extra time to prepare the cake pan according to the manufacturers instructions. I bake my bundt cakes in the NordicWare Anniversary bundt pan, which is a 10 to 12 cup pan with a traditional design. NordicWare suggests to either use a baking spray that combines flour and oil to prepare your bundt pan or to use a solid fat, like butter or shortening, to evenly coat the inside with a pastry brush, then tapping in flour to evenly coat the entire surface of the pan.

Regardless of the brand of pan you are using, while a baker's spray that contains flour is acceptable, a cooking spray is not. These oil sprays will bake onto the pan and leave a gummy buildup that is hard, if not impossible, to remove, and that buildup can cause your cakes to stick to the pan. Opt for a spray like Baker's Joy non-stick spray.

Checking if They Are Done Baking

Bundts are tricky because they are so big and it can be hard to know when they're done. When it's time to check if the cake is done baking, I use a combination of visual cues, touch, and a skewer to make sure the bundt is completely baked in the middle:

1. are the edges of the cake pulling away from the sides of the pan? If so, the bundt might be done
2. are the edges a deep golden brown? Because bundt cakes take a long time to bake through, expect the edges to be darker than on simple cake layers.
3. when you press your fingertips on the surface of the bundt, does it rise back up or leave an indent? an indent could mean the cake hasn't baked enough and is still a little raw
4. when you press your fingertips on the surface of the cake, does it feel firm and set? bundt cakes are usually pretty hefty cakes and they should feel firm to the touch, even when hot. If the cake surface feels too delicate, it might not be done.
5. when you insert a skewer into the cake, does it come out clean? The skewer test is always a great method to check if a bundt is done: it should come out clean. For a bundt like the apple cake below, make sure to poke the skewer through cake, not an apple. If it feels like you poked an apple, remove the skewer and poke somewhere else.

Unmoulding

Never use metal utensils, scouring pads, or abrasive cleaners on your bundt pans because if they have a special non-stick coating, you will ruin it with any of these. If your bundt cake sticks to the pan, it may have cooled down too much. Don't use a knife to try and release the bundt from the pan because you may ruin the finish on the pan. Try one of the following options:

Apple Bundt FAQs

Other Apple Desserts to Try

If you've gone apple picking and have lots of apples to bake with, be sure to check out these other apple dessert recipes , like this impressive French apple tarte tatin or this Italian apple yogurt cake with a simply crunchy sugar topping or a simple apple crisp for one that's ready in 5 minutes.

If you tried this recipe for the best apple bundt cake with caramel sauce (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Apple Bundt Cake with Salted Caramel Glaze

This sour cream apple bundt cake topped with salted caramel glaze is anything but boring with this easy recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 14

Calories 657kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 10 cup bundt
• OXO balloon whisk
• 6-quart KitchenAid Pro mixer
• Pastry brush

Ingredients

Apple bundt cake

• 375 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 10 mL ground cinnamon
• 7.5 mL baking powder
• 2.5 mL baking soda
• 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 0.625 mL ground nutmeg
• 0.625 mL ground cloves
• 230 grams unsalted butter
• 200 grams light brown sugar
• 200 grams granulated sugar
• 4 large egg(s)
• 15 mL pure vanilla extract
• 375 mL sour cream (14% fat)
• 600 grams Cortland apple(s) peeled, cored, and diced

Salted caramel glaze

• 125 mL apple juice or water, plus more for brushing sides of pan
• 400 grams granulated sugar
• 115 grams salted butter cut into cubes
• 250 mL whipping cream (35 % fat)

Metric - US

Instructions

Apple bundt cake

• Preheat the oven to 325 ºF (165 °C). Prepare a 10-cup (2.4 L) bundt pan by evenly greasing the inside with a solid fat like shortening or butter, then dust with flour, OR you can spray the inside with a baking spray like Baker's Joy (NOT cooking spray). Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar for at least 5 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each one in very well before adding the next.
• Add the vanilla extract and the sour cream, and mix them in for another minute.
• Add the dry ingredients, half at a time, mixing on low to incorporate it without overmixing.
• When the flour has almost disappeared into the batter, take the mixer bowl off the stand and remove the paddle. Switch to a spatula.
• Drop in the chopped apples and fold them in with the spatula, making sure that the ingredients are evenly mixed, lifting the batter up from the bottom to ensure there's no flour hidden down there.
• Dollop the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with an offset spatula. Bang the pan a few times, or run a knife through the batter to make sure that there are no air pockets.
• Bake the cake on the middle rack for 90 minutes, checking after 75 minutes to see how it's doing. Use a skewer to test if the cake is done or not, making sure to poke through cake, not apple. The skewer should come out clean when the cake is baked. The edges of the cake will be a deep golden brown colour, and the surface will feel firm and slowly bounce back when gently pressed with your fingertips.
• Let the bundt cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely, then transfer it to a serving plate.

Salted caramel glaze

• Measure all your ingredients before beginning and have them ready. This is very important.
• In a deep 3 quart saucepan, pour the apple juice (or the water), and then the sugar. Don’t stir it.
• Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. If there’s sugar stuck on the sides of the pan, carefully brush it with a heat-resistant silicone brush dipped in a little water. Feel free to swirl the pan to give the mixture a stir, but when you set it back on the burner, brush the edges of the pan with water to dissolve the sugar crystals from the walls of the pot.
• Once the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture starts to bubble, you can increase the heat on the stove to medium–high, or you can leave it on medium. The only difference is that on medium, it will take longer for the mixture to caramelize.
• Continue to boil the caramel until it turns amber in colour. As soon as the caramel has reached the desired colour, slide the pan off the heat, and turn the burner off.
• Slowly and carefully drop in the cubed butter (it will bubble and erupt so be careful!). Pour in the cream, slowly and carefully.
• When the bubbling has calmed down, begin to gently whisk the caramel until it is smooth and homogeneous.
• Poor the salted caramel in a large jar and cover loosely. When the caramel has cooled to room temperature, you can tighten the lid and store it in the refrigerator. It will thicken even more in the fridge.
• When the bundt has cooled completely, you can pour half the salted caramel glaze over the top of the cake and let it slowly trickle down the sides. Serve slices of the cake with the rest of the salted caramel.

Notes

• If you need a sour cream alternative, try a full-fat plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt, preferably with 9–10 % fat. Regular yogurt with a high fat content may work as well.
• For the spices, you can play around with your own combination of warm spices, like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, mace, etc. or you can try a pumpkin pie spice mix or an apple pie spice blend. Simply replace the total volume of spices with the mix.
• The weight of apples for this recipe (600 grams) works out to 2–3 large apples or 3 cups chopped.
• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• I highly recommend watching the colour change closely to determine if your caramel has cooked enough, but if you want to check the temperature, aim for somewhere between 350°F and 360°F with a candy thermometer before adding the butter and cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 657kcal | Carbohydrates: 87g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 138mg | Sodium: 231mg | Potassium: 232mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 63g | Vitamin A: 1136IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 103mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Apple Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce appeared first on The Bake School.

I am a sucker for any fruit dessert that has a crumble topping. These apple crisp bars are one of my top fall desserts! These are very much like date squares with their crumbly oat base and topping, but instead of a date filling, they have an apple filling made from apple sauce and diced apple.

Apples, brown sugar and oats are a killer combination that is always appreciated, like in this apple butter cake and this apple crumble cake.

Ingredients

These applesauce oatmeal bars are easy to make. You probably have all the ingredients you need in your pantry and fridge! Here's what you need to make these apple squares:

• large flake oats, also known as rolled oats, provide texture to the crumble layer, which doubles as the bottom crust for these squares. Don't use minute oats or steel-cut oats for this recipe. These are not good substitutions for rolled oats, though the minute oats will likely work if that's all you've got.
• all-purpose flour is needed to bind all the ingredients together and give the bars structure. If you don't use enough flour, your bars will be too soft, and too much flour will make the crumble dry and powdery.
• brown sugar, light or dark, will add both sweetness and a molasses flavour that pairs nicely with the apple filling.
• butter—use unsalted or salted butter! Salted will work great and balance out the sweetness.
• cinnamon is optional, but pairs really nicely with apple desserts
• salt—this recipe was developed with Diamond Crystal Fine Kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount or the bars may be too salty
• apple sauce—use unsweetened so you can control the sweetness of the apple filling
• apples—use an apple variety that can withstand heat without breaking down, like Cortlands.
• cornstarch—as a thickener for the apple sauce so that you can slice and serve the bars more easily.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• oats—use large flake oats, also called rolled oats or old-fashioned oats. These are thicker and have a more coarse texture. Do not use minute oats or quick oats which are too fine and will break down too much in the food processor. Do not use steel-cut oats either.
• apples—use a baking apple like Cortland, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, or Honeycrisp apple varieties that can be cooked and baked and hold their shape well.
• sugar—use light brown sugar which adds a little flavour but not too much. Dark brown sugar will lead to a darker filling and crumble with more molasses character. Another good option would be granulated maple sugar.
• spices—I kept this recipe simple and used a small amount of cinnamon to add a little flavour without overpowering the apples or the buttery oat crumble topping. You can also use apple pie spice blend or a pumpkin pie spice mix instead.
• vanilla bean paste would make a lovely addition to the apple filling

How To Make Apple Crisp Bars

There are two components to these apple crumble bars: a cooked apple filling made from apples and applesauce and an oat crumble that serves as the base and topping for these bars.

Step 1: Whisk the apple sauce with the brown sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon (image 1) until there are no lumps. Set it aside.

Note: The apple filling is thickened with cornstarch, helping to gel the extra water/juice in commercial apple sauce, which is sometimes quite "loose," and too wet for a filling like this. The cornstarch helps the filling set so that you can cut these bars neatly once they've cooled.

Step 2: Sautée the diced apple in a large skillet (image 2). Once the apples are cooked through and translucent, add the apple sauce mixture to the pan (image 3). Heat the mixture until it boils and let it simmer for about 5 minutes until it is very thick (image 4).

Step 3: Combine the dry ingredients for the oat crumble in a food processor (image 5) and pulse to combine them (image 6), then add cubed cold butter (image 7) and work it in to create a crumbly mixture that holds when pressed together (image 8).

Step 4: Scatter half of the crumble mixture on the bottom of the square metal baking pan (image 9) and press it in place with a flat-bottomed glass (image 10) to create a compact, firm base (image 11).

Tip: Use a flat-bottomed glass or mug and take the time to press and tighten the crumbly base to lock it in place and create a firm base that you will be able to slice with ease.

Step 5: With a mini offset spatula, smear the apple filling over the compacted crumble base from edge to edge (image 12). Make sure to spread it in an even layer from edge to edge (image 13).
Step 6: Scatter the remaining crumble over top (image 14).

Step 7: Gently press the topping into the apple filling very lightly to anchor the topping in place (image 15). Bake until golden brown and set (image 16). Let the bars cool completely before slicing.

Tip: Use a big Chef's knife and a ruler to slice the date bars into equal squares. If the bars are too warm and/or soft, you can briefly freeze them so that they cool down faster and firm up enough to cleanly slice into equal squares.

Top Baking Tip

Lining pans with a longer strip of parchment paper creates an overhang on either side that makes lifting the bars out of the pan easy! This way you can place them on a cutting board to cut them cleanly and neatly, without the edges of the pan getting in the way (and to avoid ruining the finish on your bakeware too!).

To anchor the parchment paper overhang so that it doesn't fall onto your baked goods as they bake, butter the pan and use small binder clips to secure the overhang edges in place.

Dessert Bar Baking FAQs

Other Apple Desserts to Bake

If you tried this recipe for the best apple crisp bars (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Apple Crisp Bars

You are going to love these apple crisp bars, which are like the apple pie version of date squares but better: an apple filling between layers of oat crumble. These apple squares make an excellent dessert or snack.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 16 squares

Calories 289kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 9x9-inch pan
• Food processor
• Mini offset

Ingredients

Apple Filling

• 500 grams unsweetened applesauce
• 100 grams light brown sugar
• 30 grams cornstarch
• 2.5 mL ground cinnamon
• 28 grams unsalted butter
• 2 Cortland apple(s) peeled, cored, and diced (each apple weighed approximagely 200 grams)

Oat Crumble

• 225 grams rolled oats (or large flake oats)
• 125 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 150 grams light brown sugar
• 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 1.25 mL ground cinnamon
• 230 grams unsalted butter cold, cubed

Metric - US

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175 °C). Prepare a 9-inch square pan by lightly greasing it, and lining the base and sides with parchment paper. Set aside.

Apple Filling

• In a bowl, whisk together the apple sauce, light brown sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon until there are no lumps. Set aside.
• In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter, then add the diced apple and cook them until translucent. Add the apple sauce mixture and continue heating, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a boil, then cook until it thickens (about 5 minutes). Take the pan off the heat and transfer the filling to a bowl to cool.

Oat Crumble

• In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the oats, sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Add in the cold butter and pulse it with the flour/oat mixture to form a crumble. You can also do this by hand like the topping for a fruit crisp

Assembly & Baking

• Sprinkle half the crumble mixture in the base of the lined pan, and using a flat-bottomed glass, press it firmly so that the crust is even from edge to edge. Be sure to get into the corners too!
• Smear the apple filling over the bottom crust and smooth it out evenly using a mini offset spatula, then scatter the rest of the crumble over top, patting it in gently just to secure it.
• Bake the squares for about 45–55 minutes or until the edges begin to recede and the top is golden.
• Let cool completely before cutting or it might be a little messy (but oh so good!).

Notes

For this recipe,

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• Use large flake or rolled oats, not quick or minute oats because we want to retain some texture even though we are using a food processor for the crumble.
• Use unsweetened apple sauce that is made from apples, water, and may contain ascorbic acid (to prevent browning and help with preservation). Do not use sweetened apple sauce because we are adding sugar to the filling or else, reduce the sugar in the recipe.
• Please let the bars cool down completely before cutting them or they will be too delicate and fall apart. You can freeze them briefly to speed up the cooling process and to help them firm up quickly.

Nutrition

Calories: 289kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 83mg | Potassium: 132mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 425IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Apple Crisp Bars appeared first on The Bake School.

Ingredients

This apple blackberry crumble is made from a simple list of ingredients and you likely have most of them in your pantry!

• butter—use unsalted butter or adjust the salt in the topping
• sugar—any sugar will do, whether light or dark brown sugar or granulated sugar
• flour—bleached all-purpose flour you can also use a mix of all-purpose and buckwheat, or all-purpose and whole wheat
• oats—use rolled oats (or large flake oats). Do not use quick or minute oats which have a finer texture that is less interesting
• salt—I used Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount
• apples—use baking apples that hold their shape like Cortland, Granny Smith, Gala, or Honeycrisp apples, or use a combination with a saucing apple like McIntosh. Do not use saucing apples only for the filling as it will turn to mush and lack texture.
• lemon juice—use fresh or bottled lemon juice. It's optional and used to create an acidic water bath to prevent the peeled apples from browning while you peel and slice them all.
• berries—use fresh blackberries washed, dried, and picked over, but frozen will also work. You don't have to defrost them.
• thickener—use cornstarch, not flour to avoid making the filling cloudy
• vanilla—it's optional but I love to add vanilla bean paste to fruit crisps. You could also use vanilla extract.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

This is a very simple recipe. Your substitution and variation options are limited.

• sugar—any sugar will do, whether light or dark brown sugar or granulated sugar. Don't use coarse sugar that may be too slow to dissolve, especially in the filling.
• vanilla—it's optional, but I love to add vanilla bean paste to fruit crisps. You could also use vanilla extract.
• spices—while I only used vanilla in the fruit filling and no flavourings in the topping, you can add spices to the oat topping, like cinnamon to add flavour, like ½–1 teaspoon (2.5–5 mL)
• berries—I used fresh wild blackberries which have a great flavour but they are only available in late summer where I live. You could also use frozen berries instead. Don't defrost them.

Don't have blackberries? Try this apple and blueberry crumble!

Instructions

Like all fruit crisps and crumbles, there are two components to prepare to make this apple blackberry crumble: the oat topping and the apple blackberry filling. I like to start by making the topping first to stick it in the fridge to firm up while I make the filling.

Step 1—start by making the oat crumble topping by combining the dry topping ingredients with the sugar (image 1) and whisking them until evenly dispersed (image 2). Then drop the diced butter into the bowl of dry ingredients (image 3) and work the mixture with your fingertips until it resembles wet sand (image 4).

Tip: I like to take the topping a step further, working it into a cookie dough texture that clumps together, but you don't have to.

Step 2—Prepare the apples by peeling them all (image 5) and then coring and slicing them into 1-inch slices (image 6).

Tip: Since there are a lot of apples to peel and slice, have a bowl of lemon water on the side to drop the apples in as you peel them. This will reduce the browning that may happen with certain apple varieties.

Step 3—Prepare the fruit filling by first mixing together the sugar and cornstarch (image 7). Use a whisk or even your fingertips to make sure the mixture has no lumps in it (image 8), then add the sliced apples and blackberries, along with vanilla bean paste (image 9) and use your hands to mix the fruit filling really well, being sure to lift up from the bottom and get all the sugar off the bottom of the bowl (image 10).

Hint: how much thickener you use is entirely dependent on the types of apples, how juicy the berries are, and how thick or thin you want the fruit filling. I created a thick filling with cornstarch and a mixture of apple varieties, but you can use less (or no thickener) for a loose filling.

Step 4: Transfer the fruit filling to a deep 9x13x2-inch (23x33x5-cm) (image 11). I used a metal OXO pan, but a glass Pyrex pan will work too. Scatter the oat crumble topping over the fruit (image 12) making sure that it is spread out in an even layer from edge to edge (image 13). Bake until golden brown and bubbling in the centre (image 14).

Top Baking Tip

Other Apple Desserts

If you tried this recipe for apple blackberry crumble with oats (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Apple and Blackberry Crumble

This delicious apple blackberry crumble is so easy to make from fresh blackberries and sliced apples and topped with a sweet oat crumble.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 528kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 9x13 baking pan
• Sheet pan

Ingredients

Oat crumble topping

• 230 grams unsalted butter cold, cut into cubes
• 200 grams light brown sugar
• 190 grams bleached all-purpose flour you can also use a mix of all-purpose and buckwheat, or all-purpose and whole wheat
• 140 grams rolled oats (or large flake oats)
• 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt

Apple blackberry filling

• 1.75 kg Cortland apple(s) I used 10 small–medium apples
• 30 mL fresh lemon juice
• 450 grams fresh blackberries washed, dried, and picked over
• 100 grams light brown sugar
• 30 grams cornstarch
• 10 mL vanilla bean paste

Metric - US

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190 °C). Butter a large baking dish or casserole dish (I used a 9x13x2-inch baking pan with a non-stick finish, but a Pyrex or ceramic pan would work fine). Set the baking dish on a large, rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment (to catch any drips). Set aside.

Oat crumble topping

• In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, oats, sugar, and salt. Add in the cubes of cold butter and toss it in the dry mixture to coat all the pieces. You can do this with your fingertips. Press and work the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a crumbly topping with lots of texture. Set aside. You can refrigerate the crumble topping if your kitchen is warm.

Apple blackberry filling

• Peel and core the apples, and then slice them into 1-inch slices. Place them in a bowl with the lemon juice and some water to immerse them and prevent the apples from browning while you work. Pat them dry before mixing with the rest of the filling ingredients
• Wash, dry, and pick over the blackberries to remove any stems or twigs. Pat them dry
• Mix the cornstarch and sugar until evenly mixed in a large bowl, being sure to squish any lumps.
• Drain and pat the fruit dry and add to the large bowl of sugar and cornstarch, along with the vanilla bean paste.
• Stir the filling really well to make sure the fruit is evenly coated. Ensure that all the sugar and cornstarch are incorporated throughout the fruit. Pour the fruit evenly into the bottom of the buttered baking dish.
• Scatter globs of the crumble topping over the fruit from edge-to-edge.
• Bake the blackberry apple crumble for 45 minutes, then turn down the temperature to 350 ºF (175 °C). Continue baking until the fruit layer is bubbling, the topping is golden brown. This takes another 20–30 minutes or so.
• Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or custard sauce.

Notes

•  sugar—any sugar will do, whether light or dark brown sugar or granulated sugar
• vanilla—it's optional but I love to add vanilla bean paste to fruit crisps. You could also use vanilla extract.
• spices—while I only used vanilla in the fruit filling and no flavourings in the topping, you can add spices to the oat topping, like cinnamon to add flavour, like ½–1 teaspoon (2.5–5 mL)
• berries—I used fresh wild blackberries, which have a great flavour but they are only available in late summer where I live. You could also use frozen berries instead. Don't defrost them.
• salt—This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• Feel free to modify the amount and type of thickener. You can try using more to achieve a thicker, more set fruit filling, and try arrowroot or tapioca starch instead of cornstarch.
• I don't recommend using flour as a thickener because it will make the filling appear cloudy.

Nutrition

Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 134mg | Potassium: 380mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 50g | Vitamin A: 766IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 2mg

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