Apple pie bars from Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (page 214) by Ina Garten

Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

  • debakken on November 04, 2024

    My first time making this recipe and I must say that the result was delicious. I don't own a stand mixer, however, and have hardly ever (in the decades that I've been baking) made a recipe that practically requires one. A hint to that in the recipe would have been appreciated. If I made it again, I would make a half recipe, as others have noted, and would also add one more large apple, so that the proportion of apples to crust and crumble was greater. And I also wondered about the juices left in my saucepan--I cooked the apples to tender but not falling apart but four or five tablespoons of lovely buttery juice remained. I poured nearly all of it down the drain, worried that I'd make the bottom crust too soggy. Maybe next time I'd keep some of that in the filling. I thought this was a recipe--and yes, a delicious one--that could have used more specific instructions in a few places.

  • averythingcooks on March 05, 2023

    A 2nd note re: this recipe -this weekend I made a 1/2 recipe in a 9" springform in order to slice it into pie shaped wedges. I used parchment in the bottom & upped the apples a bit (in order to use the ones on hand). My only concern (or puzzle I guess) is that the base seemed to cook far faster this time...I will start checking at 15 min next time. I plated the wedges with a homemade vanilla/toffee bit ice cream. It served 8 without a speck leftover.

  • averythingcooks on February 26, 2023

    I cut this in 1/2...and agree that using that much butter for the full recipe (which here = at least $8.00 CA) is a bit daunting! That being said, they were VERY popular on the platter of squares served at a casual get together. I weighed the dough (1/2 recipe = 22 oz) to make portioning the top & bottom easier & I did have lots for the top (ie mine look more like anya_sf's picture compared to the pic in the book). I also made a parchment sling as shown in the book photo. I plan to make these again next weekend for a more formal plated dessert with homemade vanilla ice cream.

  • raybun on October 04, 2020

    I halved this recipe and baked them in an 8" pan. I couldn’t bring myself to use a whole pound of butter! Tasted absolutely fabulous.

  • Kinhawaii on October 13, 2018

    While I love the bar, I wanted the crust to be thinner but thick enough to be eaten out of hand. I used 3/4 of the dough, 3 sticks of butter etc., with 2/3 of that on the bottom & the other 1/3 on top. I like that proportion of the apples to crust better. I also cooked the apples first so that they had time to cool down.

  • anya_sf on October 28, 2017

    My apples softened before the liquid evaporated, so there was a bit of liquid left. Still, it didn't seem to adversely affect the bars. I chilled the crumb topping while cooking the apples to make it easier to crumble. There was plenty of topping - nearly enough to cover all the apples, despite what Ina says. The photo in the book shows a parchment-lined pan, but the instructions don't state that, so I did not line the pan. They weren't too hard to remove, but I'm sure lining the pan would make it easier. My bars took 45 min to bake before the topping seemed remotely brown. They were amazing! So buttery (unsurprising) and delicious - too easy to overeat. Sadly, with over 1 lb butter, I can't make these often. I'm going to have to freeze the leftovers.

  • jumali on December 01, 2016

    These were a favorite at our Thanksgiving dessert table. While they were delicious and easy to prepare, I won't be making them often due to the full pound+ of butter this dish requires. My apples had a lot of moisture in them, and by the time it was mainly cooked away most of the apples fell apart. Mine wasn't as pretty as Ina's but they sure did taste good.

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