Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a wonderful day with family, friends and good food! I just wanted to share a quick recipe that is a must at our Thanksgiving table, Apple Squares. It’s one of the things that everyone in the family looks forward to!
I can remember making these when I was a little girl with my great aunt, we would clear the kitchen table, roll up our sleeves and dive into a world of sweet, sweet apples and the flakiest dough you could ever dream of!
Apple Squares
Dough:
  • 5 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 cups shortening
  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups crushed cornflakes
Combine the flour and salt in bowl and cut in shortening.
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In bowl beat egg yolks and milk, reserve the egg whites for later.
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Add egg mixture to the flour mixure
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Mix dough until combined and form into a ball and cut in half. Refrigerate for an hour or so.
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In the meantime, crush your cornflakes into very fine pieces. Perfect job for the little ones!
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Roll out the dough and place it on a 15 x10 sheet pan. If you’re terrible at rolling out dough like I am than this is the perfect dough for you! It’s great for piecing together and once it’s baked, it’s so flaky that no one will ever know!
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Filling:
  • 6 apples
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Slice up the apples, we always used granny smith apples, why I have no idea but you can use your favorite kind. Toss them with the sugar and cinnamon.
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Place the apple in a flat layer on top of cornflakes.
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Roll out the remaining dough, place on top of the apples layer, cut some slits to let the steam escape and seal the edges. Beat the egg whites until foamy and spread on top of the crust.
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Bake at 350 for 1 hour, until the crust is golden. Cool slightly.
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If that doesn’t look delicious on it’s own there’s one more step!
Icing:
  • 1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 tbl water
Combine the above ingredients and drizzle till your hearts content! I usually make these a day ahead so the next day I will cut them into 24 squares.
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These squares will put any apple pie to shame!! A little bit of advice, if you decide to make these for a holiday party, make sure you keep a few squares at home for yourself! They will be gone as soon as you unwrap them! Winking smile
p.s.
Could I make these square more healthy, substituting the shortening for a better option? Absolutely. But, some things should just be left alone and this is one of them.
It’s Thanksgiving, to me that means family traditions,  our day just wouldn’t be the same without them…
‘Night!

8 comments:

  1. They look so good! and I agree, some things need to be left alone and enjoy the simplicity of the recipe! These would be really good for a Holiday brunch : )

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  2. This looks so delicious and super flaky! Hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  3. Wow, the apple squares look incredible. What a great way to use up apples. I love how you used cornflakes to make it extra crispy and flaky. Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. Just "BUZZED" your recipe on Foodbuzz!

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  4. So glad you had your helper to crush the cornflakes! My kids love that kind of help too! These look wonderful and tasty! Thanks!

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  5. Your apple squares look divine! This is a must make. I'm sending it along to my son's girlfriend. She's the baker in the family.

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  6. I could really use that and a cup of tea right now! :)

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  7. Do you think you could make this crust for an apple pie?

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