Moist Butterscotch Apple Pecan Bars

Hold on shoppers, don’t wheel your cart out of the produce aisle yet-I’ve got another apple recipe…a tasty snack cake.

In an effort to eat more fruit (and because they are just so good right now) I am trying to eat an apple a day for (at least) the next month. It’s what the doctor says we should be doing, right? Don’t worry; I’m not counting apples baked into a snack cake or biscuits as my apple for the day-that can just be a bonus. I am going to eat a sliced apple every day.

Are your kids picky about how you slice an apple? My kids never have been, but recently my daughter had a friend over who would not eat the apple the way I sliced it. For the better part of the last six years I have had one or more of my children in braces and I have been slicing my apples not into the (apparently) more popular wedges but rather into almost paper thin slices and although we are (temporarily) braces-free we all now prefer paper thin slices…of course I sliced some wedges for the friend, but geesh it’s not like she’s a toddler-she’s twelve!

Super tips for selecting and storing apples:

Choose firm apples free of bruises or brown spots

Not all tasty apples are red-just look for clear smooth coloring

Store apples in the crisper drawer in your refrigerator away from other strong smelling produce (like leeks or other onions) apples will pick up thier odors

While apples look lovely in a bowl on your table, just remember that they will not last as long-so eat or use them quickly

1 medium sized apple will equal about 1 cup diced

1 pound of apples yields about 3 cups of diced fruit


The Cook's Thesaurus had a great breakdown of the best apples for whatever you are making:

Best for eating out of hand: Gala, Fuji, Mutsu, Jonathan, Cameo, Golden Delicious, Cortland, Empire, Red Delicious, McIntosh, Braeburn, Winesap, Pink Lady, Sundowner
Best for pies: Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Rhode Island Greening, Pippin, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Gravenstein
Best for applesauce: Pippin, Rhode Island Greening, McIntosh, Elstar, Cortland, Fuji, Gala, Gravenstein
Best for baking: Rome, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Pippin, Gala, Braeburn, Northern Spy, Gravenstein, Rhode Island Greening, York Imperial, Cortland, Winesap
Best for making salads: Cortland, Golden Delicious, Empire, Gala, Red Delicious, Fuji, Winesap, Criterion, Pink Lady

Moist Butterscotch Apple Pecan Bars

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup fat free milk
1 large egg
2 cups diced, peeled apple
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Butterscotch drizzle:
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter and flour a 13x9 inch baking pan.

In a large mixing bowl beat together the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer. In another small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter, beating just until combined. Mix in the vanilla, milk and egg. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

Scatter the apple and pecans over the mixture, pressing down gently.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For the butterscotch drizzle, melt the butter and the brown sugar in a skillet over medium high heat until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and cook for 30 seconds; drizzle over the warm cake; allow the cake to cool slightly before cutting into bars to serve.

You know you want a scoop of ice cream with it…go ahead wheel your cart over to the frozen food section for a pint of vanilla.