24 bars
3 lbs apples, peeled, cored, sliced and
then cut into rough chunks
3 oz butter
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
1 tsp cornstarch, stirred into 2 oz of water, if needed
3 C flour
1 c sugar
1 tsp salt
12 oz butter, cubed
½ tsp cinnamon
½ c rolled oats
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with enough foil to overhang on all sides. Lightly grease your foiled pan.
Make your crust and streusel:
In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, butter, and salt together until it looks like coarse sand.
Take 1 ½ C of the mixture and set aside in a separate bowl. Add the cinnamon and the oats, and work the mixture with your hands until it forms into small crumbly balls. Set aside.
Spread the remaining mixture into your baking pan to form a crust that slightly comes up on the edges.
Bake crust 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
Increase the oven heat to 375 degrees.
Make the filling:
In a cold saucepan, toss together the apples, sugars, and lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat until the apples start to soften, and then add the cinnamon, salt, and butter. Once the butter melts, let the mixture simmer, 10 – 15 minutes, until the liquid mostly evaporates. If your filling needs thickening, add the cornstarch mixture and cook for another couple of minutes to thicken. Remove from heat and cool.
Assemble your bars:
Spread your apple filling over your pre-baked crust and crumble your streusel mix evenly across the top. Bake until the topping is golden brown, about 45 minutes.
Cool in the pan on a wire rack, remove from pan and off of foil, and then cut into 24 bars.