APPLE BARS

When I originally saw Ed and Mary Slabaugh's recipe for Apple Bars in The Farmhouse Kitchen cookbook, Amish Community Cooking from Greenville, PA, I was looking for a good sounding recipe to make and take to Hillcrest Thrift Shop. I had some apples and it wasn't real sweet. (While they enjoy "sweet", they also like when I reduce the calories in the recipe.) Just perfect for them. NOT. It only used a 9 x 9 - inch pan. That wouldn't make enough to serve all of them. So I just kept it in the back of my mind.

Saturday we didn't have a sweet thing in the house to eat and I wanted something sweet. I didn't want to have a big amount, but just enough to last a few days. Well, I remembered the Apple Bars and knew it would be perfect for US.

My husband took one bite and said, "These are good, really good. Not real sweet, just like I like it." I then told him I had omitted one brown sugar ingredient, but I thought it was just right also. I am including it in the recipe so you can decide if you want to add it or not.

APPLE BARS

1         cup flour
1/2     teaspoon soda
1/2     teaspoon salt
1/2     cup brown sugar
1         cup quick oats
1/2     cup shortening
1/4     cup brown sugar (I omitted)
2-1/2 cups sliced apples

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, making crumbs.

Spread half of the crumbs, (about 1-1/2 cups) in a 9 x 9 - inch pan.

Place apples on the crumbs, and sprinkle with the 1/4 cup of  brown sugar and then cover with the remaining crumbs.

I placed the apples in two layers, alternating the slices in the layers.

Bake for 40 - 50 minutes.