Pumpkin Pie Bars

California doesn't really get autumn. Sure, there are some trees that change color, and sometimes there's that nip in the wind that just has that "autumn" scent to it. But then the next day it's 75 again.

My favorite childhood memory of autumn is shushelling through the fallen leaves. That resounding crunch, the splash of colors... and then getting yelled at for traipsing through the leaf pile that your dad recently raked. ("It wasn't me, it was the dog!") (As a side note, don't try that one when the dog is inside the house) ;)

I'm not sure what it is, but this time of year just screams out comforting, home-y scents and tastes. Apple, cinnamon, pumpkin, etc. They just make things seem warmer. The biting wind gets smaller teeth, for lack of a better way of putting it. :)

I made these a few years ago, when visiting at home, and I believe half the pan was gone in less than three hours. They're pretty easy to make and come together quickly. Next time, I think I'll add a bit more spice.

Oh, and they have to be something good. Dave doesn't like pumpkin pie, but he had two of the bars tonight. :)



Ingredients:
1-1/3 cups flour
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
3/4 cup (1½ sticks) cold butter
1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked
½ cup chopped pecans
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil; grease foil lining.

Mix flour, brown sugar and ¼ cup of the granulated sugar in medium bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in oats and pecans. Reserve 1 cup of the oat mixture; press remaining mixture onto bottom of pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

Beat cream cheese, remaining ½ cup sugar, eggs, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Pour over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

Bake at 350F for 25 min. Lift from pan using foil handles; cool completely. Cut into 24 bars. Store leftover bars in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Almond Apple Bars

It really shouldn't have surprised me that my first time baking after vacation would have its difficulties. But, no. That never occurred to me. Let's see... I had softened the cream cheese in the microwave (I know, cardinal sin, but I had no choice). As I was about to put it into the mixing bowl, a piece of it 'exploded' and flew onto me. Did I mention I was wearing a tank top at the time? Yeah. Cream cheese burns.

Then, as I'm trying to grab an egg from the carton, it stuck a bit, so I applied more pressure. You know where this one's going, I'm sure. Egg, dripping onto my bare foot, down the front of my shirt and the front of my jeans. This is where I start crying because I have egg on my foot. And on the carpet. Finally get the egg off, Dave "edits" my egg-carton due to the broken one (which was not my fault! It was broken to begin with!) and gets the carpet cleaner out. And then I slip and nearly fall where the carpet spray hit the floor. Then start crying again.

*big sigh* It's probably good that Dave peeled and cut my apples for me, otherwise I'm sure I would've wound up in the emergency room. (Thank you, honey, for putting up with me, btw) ;)

Alright. Accidents aside, the recipe was pretty simple. I found it at Alpineberry earlier in the year and saved it in my "maybe trying" folder. With today's weather being rather autumny, I thought it was only appropriate.

The only thing I would do differently next time (and there will be a next time) is to add more spice to it. They're delicious as is, but I think some cinnamon or nutmeg would really jazz it up a bit. :)



Ingredients:
Crust:
1¼ cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
¼ tsp. pure almond extract
¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup almonds, finely chopped

Topping:
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp light brown sugar
¼ cup almonds, coarsely chopped

Filling:
5 oz. cream cheese, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pinch of salt
2-3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored & cut into thin slices

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

For crust:
Sift flour and salt. Set aside dry ingredients.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the almond and vanilla extracts, beating on medium until smooth. Add the granulated and brown sugars, and beat on medium speed until blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.

On low speed, mix in the flour-salt mixture and the 1/3 cup of finely chopped almonds just until the dough comes together. Dough should be crumbly.

Reserve about 2/3 cup of the crust mixture (for the topping). Press the remaining dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until light golden. Remove crust from the oven.

For the topping:
While the crust bakes, make the topping by adding the flour, granulated and brown sugars to the reserved dough. Mix until well combined. It should be crumbly. Set aside topping and 1/4 cup coarsely chopped almonds while you make the filling.

For the filling:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg, lemon juice and salt until well mixed.

Assembly:
Arrange the apple slices over the baked crust. Pour the cream cheese filling over the apples and gently spread the filling to cover. Crumble the topping over the filling. Sprinkle with the almonds.

Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes, or until light golden brown. Let the bars cool in the pan for about 30 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a cooling rack before cutting.