Apple-Cinnamon Bars

I am absolutely in love with the combination of apples and cinnamon. I love it in candles, lotion, ice cream, and especially in desserts!!! I've made several apple cinnamon dishes this fall, but I think this one may be my favorite...for now. This recipe is from Gooseberry Patch's Jolly Holidays, copyright 2002. I've made these bars many times and love that the ingredients are so simple and, except for the apples, always in my pantry.

Plus, you've got to love this retro Santa. He's soooo cute!

Apple-Cinnamon Bars

1-3/4 c. sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 c. oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. apples, cored, peeled, and diced
1 c. chopped nuts
Garnish: powdered sugar

Combine ingredients together in order listed; pour into a greased 13"x9" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes; cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar; cut into squares. Makes 2 dozen.

I used some gorgeous Granny Smiths for this recipe. Love the combination of tartness and sweetness.

I dice my apples fairly large because I don't like them to melt into the batter. I like to prepare the apples first before I start with the batter since it's the most time-consuming part of the recipe. I don't like to stop in the middle of preparing the batter to get the apples ready.

Mixing the dry ingredients, starting with sugar.

Here's the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir the dry ingredients together until well blended.

I've said this before but I like to crack my eggs in a separate cup and beat them well before adding them to the dry ingredients. I do this to make sure that the eggs are thoroughly blended. I find it almost impossible to blend unbeaten eggs into a dry mixture without seeing swirls of eggs in it.

Add the beaten eggs to the dry ingredients.

Now, add the oil and vanilla extract. Stir all of the ingredients together until smooth.

About one cup of chopped pecans...

If you don't have pecans, don't let that stop you from making this dish. You could substitute walnuts or go without nuts altogether.

Add the apples and pecans to the batter. The batter will be thick.

Spread into a greased baking pan. I like to line my pan with foil so that I can just lift it up after the bars cool. It makes cutting the bars and cleaning up a lot easier.

The smell coming out of the oven had my folks in a frenzy.

I didn't garnish with powdered sugar because I'm watching my calories...

Enjoy!