Johnny Appleseed Bars

As I’ve said before, Grandma’s box is well-stocked with recipes that contain apples. With the harvest around the corner, I decided it was time to get serious and test more apple recipes. This one seemed easy enough, but I learned some things along the way. In case you need a few cooking rules to live by, here are three.  

1. Read the recipe thoroughly before you start. 

2. If you find that the recipe contradicts itself, decide which thing takes priority. 

3. If you fail to follow rules one and two, don’t worry. It all works out in the oven. 

Here’s what happened. And here’s . . . 

How to make Johnny Appleseed Bars

First, I prepared my apples by cutting, peeling, and coring them.

I used this gadget to thinly slice them. It didn't create attractive slices, but it got the job done fast and they were equally thin.

Next, I sifted together the flour, salt, soda, and cinnamon. 

I then realized that the recipe says to mix the brown sugar in, too, so I added that along with the next five ingredients as the recipe told me to do. 

Dumping it all together went against everything I’d been taught about creaming the shortening and sugar first. But I followed directions, stuck my beaters in, and started them up. 

It took a while for everything to come together. Even after the shortening and egg seemed well distributed, the mixture was a lot more crumbly than I expected it to be. 

 I pressed half of it into the pan. 

Then I turned the card over and read the back. It said to sprinkle the nuts on the dough then place the apple slices over the nuts. 

Oops. 

Apparently, “the next five ingredients” wasn’t supposed to include the nuts. Well, I wasn’t about to start over. I just crossed my fingers and hoped it would be okay. But I wondered if the nuts were keeping the dough from coming together like it should. 

Next, I had to roll out the remaining dough between two sheets of waxed paper. How do you roll out a pile of crumbs?

You smoosh them together and then roll. 

I flopped the sheet of dough over the top of the apples. It wasn’t pretty. 

A bit of tearing and patching evened things out. 

I stuck it in the oven and hoped for the best. 

The Verdict

When the timer rang, the bars were a lovely golden brown and they smelled like fall.

I wasn’t sure how long to let them cool before diving in because the recipe doesn’t say if they should be served warm or cold. What the heck? Why not try it both ways? 

We had some warm with a hunk of ice cream on top. 

My slice tasted as good as it smelled–crispy on top and bottom with the sweet-tart tang of apple in between. The next day, the bar had moistened and solidified so that it could be picked up and eaten like a bar cookie. 

It tasted less like apple crisp than it had the day before and a little more like a fruity granola bar. In other words, it was delicious either way. 

The rolled oats definitely gave it a hearty chew, so if you'd like something a little less chewy you could use quick oats instead. Softened butter or margarine would be a good substitute for the shortening if you're not a fan.  

Now, you might be wondering about the nuts.  Should they be added to the dough or sprinkled in between? The baking process brought everything together so it didn't seem to matter in the end. However, I have clarified the recipe on the card below. Now, it doesn't contradict itself and you don't have to count ingredients. 

You're welcome. Now go try these bars for yourself by clicking on the link to download the card and print it out.