“The Fault in Our Stars” Dutch Apple Pie Bars

Have you read “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green? It’s a best-selling book about kids with cancer. It’s SOOOOO sad. Seriously, I basically cried through 2/3 of the book. Literally, I was crying from page 70 all the way through page 210 (i.e. the end).

Well, I really would not have read such a sad book without a good reason, and my reason was that my book club chose it as its monthly selection. We had a potluck to discuss the book, and I wanted to make something to go along with the theme. Without giving too much away, the city of Amsterdam plays a part in the book, so I decided to make “DUTCH” apple pie bars for our potluck.

I started out looking for an apple crisp recipe, but I couldn’t really find anything that looked good. So I ended up modifying and combining an apple crumble recipe and a recipe for apple pie bars.

Dutch Apple Pie Bars:
Yield: 2 dozen bars Prep Time: 45 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour

For the Crust: 
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Filling: 
1 large can of apple pie filling (this is the fast and easy version of apple crumble bars)

For the Topping:
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

For the Crust:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. At a low speed, mix in the flour and salt until a soft dough forms.

Press the dough into the lined pan, creating an even layer. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the crust is set and golden.

Add the Filling:
Spread the apple pie filling evenly over the crust. You can make a homemade filling, but I’m in the Sandra Lee line of thinking that if you can make it a little easier, why not? Semi-homemade all the way, woot!

Make the Topping:
Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl, and add in melted butter. Mix the butter into the dry mixture using a fork, until the mixture is evenly moistened and consists of many pea-sized pieces with large chunks throughout.

Evenly sprinkle the apple pie crumble mixture over the pie filling. Bake until the crumble is a golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature, and serve.