Apple Streusel Bars

So Mother's Day is coming up and I'm betting that there are a bunch of you (or your dearest, darlingest husbands) who are looking for a special treat to make for breakfast for all the moms in your lives. I can't imagine waking up to the smell of anything better than apples and cinnamon baked with sweet pastry, plus who doesn't want an excuse to eat pie-like creations for breakfast? If sweets for breakfast isn't your thing, these are a fabulous finger pastry for a late brunch or even a perfectly portioned dessert after dinner.

Apple Streusel Bars
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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

4 c. (about 3 medium) sliced, peeled baking apples (I've used Granny Smith in the past, although this time around I used Gala and they were fabulous)

GLAZE:

2 c. powdered sugar

About 3 Tbsp. milk (whole milk is best)

1 tsp. almond 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 9x13 baking dish 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 and toss with apples.


Spread apples out on prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crust mixture over apples evenly and bake in preheated oven for 40 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. (Or just use a fork(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.


In an attempt to keep yourself from eating the whole pan, you, like me, will probably have to send half of them to a nice home...

So for all you moms out there, what do you want for Mother's Day? All you hubbies, dads, and kids (grown-up kids...I'm pretty sure we don't have any kid-kids reading our blog!), what are you doing for your moms?