Lovin' From the Oven

Archives for April 22, 2010

Apple Streusel Bars slash Send Me to NY for the Martha Stewart Show, please? :)

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Okay before I go on with the pictures, I should probably explain the title of this post. The Martha Stewart Show is filming a food bloggers special in NY on May 12th, and I was invited to go! Just to make note so there’s no confusion, I was invited to be in the audience because they wanted to target food bloggers, not as an actual guest on her show. That would be SUPER amazing!!… and I’m sure they would’ve taken care of my traveling expenses if that was the case.


Anyways, I really really really want to go because it’d be such a great experience, especially for networking! Who knows who I’ll meet and maybe I can even get hooked up in the baking world. Oh wait, that’s just me dreaming again.


BUT (of course, there’s always a “but”)… I just can’t afford to fly to NY from LA right now. I have to RSVP for the show by April 28th, which gives me a solid week to raise funds. I know this is asking a lot, but I’m asking for any donations, small or big, to help me fund this short NY trip! In return, if I get enough donations for the trip, I promise to post 5 recipes a week for the month of May. Trust me, that’s A LOT! I’d do that just for you guys, it’s true. Of course, I’d post tons about the trip and the show as well so I can share my entire experience with you all.

Thank you for even considering donating, I know it really is asking a lot. If you feel gracious enough to donate anything, you can do so by clicking on the link below or even snail mailing me (contact me through my email: kim@lovintheoven.com for mailing address). Thank you, thank you, thank you in advance!




If I don’t raise enough to go, I’ll add the people that donated to the NY funds to my cookie mailing list so at least the money doesn’t go to waste.









This recipe comes from Our Best Bites— that blog never fails me. Actually, most apple desserts never do. I baked this in a 9″x9″ dish rather than a 9″x13″ that the recipe calls for because I, personally, enjoy thicker bars. This means I had to bake it about 10 minutes longer. The ratio of crust to apples to crumb topping was perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing about it… or maybe I’d add more apples next time because that’s the best part of the whole thing. My sister and I always end up picking out the apples to eat first.

The only thing I would change is to maybe leave off the glaze because the bars were sweet enough without it. Or if you wanted it to look pretty, you could use 1/4 of the glaze instead of the whole recipe. Here’s the recipe with my adjustments in green italics:

SWEET PASTRY:
  • 2 c. flour
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 c. real butter, softened (no substitutions!)
  • 1 egg, beaten
APPLE FILLING:

  • 1/2 c. white sugar
  • 1/4 c. flour
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon (I used about 3 teaspoons.. I LOVE cinnamon)
  • 4 c. (about 3 medium) sliced, peeled baking apples (I used 4 Braeburn apples)
GLAZE:
  • 2 c. powdered sugar
  • About 3 Tbsp. milk (whole milk is best)
  • 1 tsp. almond extract (I used vanilla extract)
To prepare crust, mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbles. Gently mix in beaten egg.

Spray a 9×13 baking dish (I used a 9×9) with non-stick cooking spray. Gently pat about 2/3 of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the dish. Preheat oven to 350 and set aside.
To prepare apple filling, combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Toss with apples and spread apples out on prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crust mixture over apples evenly and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes (mine took just less than 50 minutes). When finished, allow to cool completely.

To prepare glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, almond extract, and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Place glaze in a Ziploc bag and cut off a very small portion of one of the corners. Drizzle glaze over cooled pastry and allow to harden (you can place it in the freezer to hurry things along). Cut into bars and serve.



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