Swedish Apple Pie Squares

Pies – how often do you make them? What’s your favorite kind? For me, I’m still playing around with a gluten free pie crust and in the process of finding gluten free pie recipes, I came across one that intrigued me. It’s not exactly a traditional pie in the sense that it has a crust. These Swedish Apple Pie Squares are similar to a crumble but can hold it’s shape pretty well. Sliced apples are sweetened and baked with a crumbly flour, butter, and egg topping that’s seasoned with cinnamon. Once cooled, these can be cut into bars and you’ll be surprised how easy this version of an apple “pie” was to make!…

I’m not exactly sure what makes these bars “Swedish” but nonetheless, they’re easy to make with pantry staples. Friends didn’t believe me when I told them these were gluten free so that’s a good sign! We especially enjoyed these topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Oh, as because I always have it stocked, a buttery drizzle of caramel puts this over the top!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored and sliced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour or 140 grams gluten free flour blend*
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 1 egg

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Toss apples with 1 tablespoon of sugar, and pour them into an ungreased 8×8 baking dish.
3. In a medium bowl, thoroughly mix together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, butter, and egg. Crumble this mixture evenly over the top of the pie.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until the apples have cooked and the topping is golden brown.
5. Cool and cut into squares before serving.

*Gluten free flour blend:

This is the best combination for my personal uses and has never failed me. I purchased a majority of the ingredients at an Asian market (at less than $.99/lb) and the other ingredients marked were Bob Red Mill brand. Cornstarch was Argo brand.

300 grams superfine brown rice flour (Bob’s Red Mill)
250 grams sweet rice flour (Asian market)
150 grams tapioca flour (Asian market)
100 grams sorghum flour (Bob’s Red Mill)
100 grams potato starch (Asian market)
100 grams cornstarch (Argo brand)

Whisk together the above flours and store in an air tight container. To use, measure out 140 grams for every cup called for in your favorite baking recipe (NOT yeast bread recipes.) Add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum for every cup used in the recipe as well to help with texture and binding. Voila! You can bake gluten free with confidence!