Apple Squares

Grandpa's Apple Squares

Grandpa Paul retired three years ago and realized a new talent, cooking.  As a family we have come to count on melt in your mouth roast beef and honey glazed hams for Christmas and Easter Dinners. 

As a Lions member twice a year Paul had to bring two or three pies for the Club to sell as part of fund raising dinners.  Paul picked this particular recipe because he wanted to find a way to make one large pie.  

Since that time Paul has experimented with the recipe changing it to meet our families’ particular tastes.  The result is what he calls Apple Squares a family favourite.  The next step in the evolution of this recipe is to make it with a gluten free pie crust.

 
Filling

• 16 medium apples a blend of tart and sweet, cored and sliced thin
• 3/4 cups sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Crust
• 1.5 cups dessert crackers
• homemade or purchased uncooked pie crust enough for 4 pies
• ½ stick of unsalted butter melted
• 6 tablespoons instant tapioca
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon
• Glaze
• ¾ cup reserved apple juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
• ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar

Filling: Combine all the ingredients for the filling place the apples coated in the sugar and salt in a colander and place this over a bowl.  The apples will release their juice in about ¾ of an hour.  Press the apples gently to release the last bit of juice.  You need to keep the juice in the bowl. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees  

Crust:crush the crackers and mix with 1/4 cup of sugar until fine.  You will need a 19 x14 cookie sheet with at least a 1/2 inch rim.  Sprinkle half of this mixture on the cookie sheet.  Roll out half of the pie crust and place using the other half of the cracker sugar mixture to prevent the pastry sticking to the counter that you roll out the pastry on.  Roll the pastry to fit the cookie sheet with some pastry extending beyond the cookie sheet.  

Mix the apple mixture with the tapioca, cinnamon  and lemon juice as spread evenly over the pastry.  Roll out your the other half of the pastry dough and place this on top of the apples and pinch the edges forming a seal.  Cut steam vents in the top crust.  

Bake for 1 hour.  Cool the squares on a counter rack until cool to touch.  Glaze with your favourite sugar glaze or leave and each with ice cream.

This recipe has been adapted from Apple Slab Pie Best-Ever Recipes All-Time Favorite Recipes America's Test Kitchen December 13, 2010 (pg 90).

Grandma Snyder

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