Reprinted with permission from Two Chicks from the Sticks: Back Home Baking by Jill Schwalbe Means and Jamie Greenland Gorey (2011, Living the Country Life)
Yield: 24 bars
8 cups cored, peeled and thinly sliced apples (you can use Gala, Pink Lady, or Fiji for a sweet filling or Granny Smith for a tart filling) 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup butter or butter flavored shortening, cold 1 egg yolk, slightly beaten 1/4-1/3 cup milk 1 cup crushed cornflakes or graham cracker crumbs 3 tablespoons soft butter for dotting onto filling 1 egg white, beaten lightly 1 tablespoon sugar Glaze (recipe included)
Preheat oven 375 degrees. Grease a 15 x 10-inch baking pan; set aside. To prepare apple filling, place apple slices into a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add dry mixture to apples and toss well; set aside. (Prepare the filling first and let it rest while making the crust so the sugar and cinnamon have time to permeate the apples.) To prepare pastry,* in a large bowl sift together flour and salt. Cut in butter or shortening until pea-size clumps form. In a liquid measuring cup, beat egg yolk; add enough milk to measure to 2/3 cup and mix well. Add milk mixture all at once to flour mixture; stir with a fork until combined. On a floured surface, roll a little bit more than half of the dough into an 18 x 12-inch rectangle. Transfer rectangle to prepared pan. Sprinkle crust with crushed cornflakes. Spread apple filling evenly over cornflakes. Dot apples with softened butter.
On a floured surface, roll out remaining dough into a 16 x 12-inch rectangle. Dot water around edges of the bottom crust. Place top crust over apples, press edges of crusts together, and trim excess crust. Brush top with egg white; sprinkle with sugar; cut six 2-inch long slits in the top of the pastry. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the filling begins to bubble through the slits in the top crust. Drizzle Glaze over bars while still warm. Cool on wire rack.
For the Glaze To prepare glaze, in a small bowl combine powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth. *Our pastry can be substituted with 2 individual store-bought pie crusts. If using, grease a 15-inch round pizza pan, instead of the rectangular one. On a floured surface, roll out 1 pie crust into a 16-inch circle. Transfer to prepared pizza pan and proceed with method for cornflakes, apple filling, and soft butter.
On a floured surface, roll out second crust into a 16-inch circle and continue with recipe.