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Kitchen Stewardship

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Recipe Connection: Apple Squares (You can Freeze ‘Em!)

November 5th, 2009 · 23 Comments · recipes

Welcome! Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God's gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments. If you like what you see, please sign up for a free email subscription or grab my reader feed. You can also follow me on Twitter.

I have a bad habit of leaving things in my freezer too long.  It’s not that I don’t know they’re there.  In fact, I’m very organized and (almost) always have a good handle on what’s in my freezer.  It’s just that I’m such a born conservationist.  I tend to think, “I need to save these for when I really need them,” (surprise visitors, need a quick meal, etc.).  My husband is quick to point out when something is freezer-burned.  There’s the nasty taste and aroma, and sometimes things get dried out or too chewy.  It’s always a bonus, then, when I can find a recipe that will let me have my flaws and eat them too.

apple breakfast breadThese apple bars may actually be more moist after a year and a half in the freezer than on day one!  Yes, I’ve left them in there that long before.  They come out in incredibly good shape, and you can just eat (serve) them without even having to microwave them to moisten them up.  Truly melt in your mouth.

This passes for a breakfast bar, snack food, or a dessert (looks like cake, smells like cake, melts in your mouth like cake…).  It’s the perfect fall food when apples are in season and plentiful.  I made a double batch last week to share with my Bible study gals and again yesterday for Baking Day.

The original recipe is from 30-Day Gourmet’s Freezer Cookbook that I checked out from the library a few years ago.  Here it is, (then keep going for my healthy upgrades):

Apple Squares

2 c. white flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. salt
1 c. oil
1 3/4 c. sugar
4 beaten eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 c. unpeeled, chopped apples
½ c. nuts (optional)

Stir dry ingredients together.  In another bowl, beat oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Add dry to liquid ingredients, beating well.  Stir in apples and nuts.  Pour into greased 15×10x1 cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 approx. 25 minutes.  Cool in pan.  Store in fridge if keeping longer than 3 days.

I, of course, am the short-cut girl. I beat the wet ingredients together first, then add the flour and all the other dry ingredients right on top and pseud0-mix them together then mix everything up.

*Other fruits (blueberries, drained pineapple, sweet cherries) may be substituted for apples.

Frosting:

1 ½ c. powdered sugar
2 T. butter, melted
3 T. water
1 t. vanilla

Mix all ingredients until smooth.  Drizzle over bars.

Yes, this frosting is really good.  It obviously adds a whole bunch of sugar to the recipe, though, so I haven’t made it lately.

Healthy Upgrade
  • Replace half of the white flour with whole wheat flour OR
  • Replace ½ cup of the white flour with wheat germ
  • Replace half or even the whole cup of oil with applesauce (Not that I’m afraid of fat, you know, but it’s neat to be able to make something so apple-y in the fall!)
  • Reduce the sugar by ¼ cup
HealthiER Upgrade
  • Use 100% white whole wheat flour OR
  • Today I used 1 ½ cups white whole wheat AND ½ cup wheat germ
  • Use coconut oil or melted butter (I used half homemade applesauce, half coconut oil and butter mixed.  It was just that kind of day, running out of everything!)
  • Add the walnuts – so tasty and full of omega-3s!
healthy apple dessert cake

Don't overbake them or they'll lose the moist-ness that makes them great!

The Recipe You Should Print:

Apple Squares

2 c. white whole wheat flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. salt
1/2 c. melted coconut oil or butter
½ cup applesauce
1 1/4 c. sugar
4 beaten eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 c. unpeeled, chopped apples
½ c. nuts (optional)

Stir dry ingredients together.  In another bowl, beat oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.  Add dry to liquid ingredients, beating well.  Stir in apples and nuts.  Pour into greased 15×10x1 cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 approx. 25 minutes.  Cool in pan.  Store in fridge if keeping longer than 3 days.

Because these freeze so very well, it’s worth it to double the recipe every time.  I made a single batch today as part of Baking Day and kind of regretted only having 24 squares to share with Buddy Boy’s school group Friday and for ourselves.  The only part that really takes more time is the apple chopping.  I happen to have the best 4-year-old helper in the world.  Check this out:

What a serious look on his face! He's a hard worker, for real.

What a serious look on his face! He's a hard worker, for real.

He says, "Mom, I'll do it all. You don't cut anything." Independence (stubborness) is in his genes, I'm afraid. I cored and quartered the apples and he did the rest! (That's a cheese slicer, not a butcher knife, by the way.)

He says, "Mom, I'll do it all. You don't cut anything." Independence (stubborness) is in his genes, I'm afraid. I cored and quartered the apples and he did the rest! (That's a cheese slicer, not a butcher knife, by the way.)

I mentioned Monday that I’d share my meatloaf/meatball recipe and how I freeze them, but that’s going to have to be next week.  We’re talking animal fats next week anyway, so it sort of fits!

Other Fall Recipes:

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Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money.  If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.

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