Apple Pie Cheesecake Bars

I’m starting to think I should rename this blog “Mostly Recipes For Apple Pie,” because that’s what it’s turning into. I’m not even that big of an apple pie lover, but the classic combination is my go-to when I’m faced with feeding lots of people…because everyone likes apple pie! This would be a great treat to make for an Olympics watch party because it encompasses some quintessential American characteristics – apple pie, and gluttony. What else can you call it when you layer two already decadent desserts together? I’m trashing up desserts, one recipe at a time.

Pretty simple in theory – shortbread crust + cheesecake filling + apples + crumb topping. If you REALLY wanted to trash it up, you could drizzle some caramel sauce over the top.

Makes 24 bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Cheesecake:

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla paste or extract

Apples:

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 Tbsp. white sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

Crumb Topping:

1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1 c. flour

1/2 c. quick-cook oats

1/2 c. softened butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray a 9×13″ pan with cooking spray. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. At low speed, beat in the flour and salt until a soft dough forms.

Press the dough over the bottom of the prepared pan creating an even layer. Bake in the center of the oven for about 20 minutes, until the crust is barely cooked and turning golden.

Turn oven down to 325 degrees F.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy, then add eggs and vanilla. Pour over crust.

Toss apples, spices, sugar and flour. Distribute evenly over cheesecake layer.

Add all crumb topping ingredients and combine with a pastry cutter (or your hands). Layer it on top, making sure everything is even.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the crumb topping is golden and firm, and the bars don’t jiggle when shaken. Let cool overnight, slice and serve!

The World’s Most Beautiful Apple Pie

Warning: this is not a quick and easy pie. It’s a long, arduous journey, best done with a list of phone calls to return or a few episodes of Homeland in the ol’ Netflix queue.

But isn’t it gorgeous?

It isn’t that difficult to make, it just takes a lot of time. So settle in, get yourself some apples and start peeling. The first step is to wash your apples really well. Scrub the heck out of them, because you’ll be using the peel. The trick to getting a good slice for the roses is to peel it so there’s just a sliver of peel on each piece. They should be really thin.

Then, you’ll want to grab some paper towels and kind of press down gently to get as much of the apple juice out of them as you can. You want them dry enough to roll and moist (sorry) enough for them to stick together. I wish I had taken a photo of me rolling them, but It’s pretty instinctive. Just grab a piece and roll it up, and then keep adding more and more pieces. The thinner the better!

The pie crust comes courtesy of my mom, who swears by it. I don’t have a pastry cutter, so I had to get creative with a fork and a knife to cut in the butter.

As for the apple types, I’m sure there’s a specific type that cooks better in pies – Granny Smith, I think – but I went to the orchard this weekend and just used what I had, which was a blend of Jonagold, Liberty, Golden Delicious and Gala. Worked just fine for me!

I also brushed the bottom of the pie with a salted caramel sauce that I had on hand – you don’t need to do this, but if you have it, go for it!

Sorry for the blurry photo and terrible lighting.

Oh man, I don’t even want to cut into this. It’s too pretty to eat.

The World’s Most Beautiful Apple Pie with Apple Roses and Crumb Topping

Ingredients:

Crust–

1 1/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

5 1/2 Tbsp. cold butter

4 Tbsp. ice water

Roses–

4 apples

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Filling–

8 apples, sliced thinly

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Crumb topping–

1/2 c. flour

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/4 c. brown sugar

Instructions:

For crust–

Sift together flour and salt. Cut in butter, making sure not to touch it with your hands as much as possible. It should be as cold as possible. When the butter is well cut, add ice water one tablespoon at a time. Quickly, using your hands, roll the dough into a ball, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more. When you’re ready to use it, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Place it in the pie pan and, using pie weights or something similar, bake for 10 minutes. Take out the pie weights and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, let it cool and set it aside.

For roses–

Wash apples thoroughly. Fill a bowl with water and lemon juice. Using a clean, dry vegetable peeler, remove a vertical strip of peel (3 inches or so). You can throw this away. Continue peeling, making sure to get only a sliver of color on each piece. Continue until all the apples are peeled. Drain the apple pieces, then fill a pot on the stove with water and let it come to a rolling boil. Add the apples and let them cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain again, then get several paper towels and lay them down. Put the apple pieces on them and gently squeeze as much of the liquid out as you can. Put them back in a bowl and get rolling! I was able to make 18 roses from 4 apples. If you want to cover the whole top, you’ll need twice as many.

For the filling–

Peel, core and slice apples. Add them to a pan heated over medium. Add spices and sugar, cover, and let cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The apples should be extremely soft by the time they’re done cooking.

For the crumb topping–

In a small bowl, mix flour, sugar and melted butter until crumbly.

Assembly–

If you have caramel sauce, use a pastry brush to coat the crust with a thin layer. Add the apples, then arrange the roses around the edges. Add the crumb topping to the middle and top with three roses in the center. Bake for 30 minutes or until crumb topping is cooked and apples and browned. Let cool, then take pictures for friends and family to admire. You’ve just made a masterpiece.