apple cider Archives - The Little Vintage Baking Company

It’s November and I am still obsessing over apples. I love baking with apples, and while I like baking with pumpkin too, apples are my fall baking favorite. Today I’m sharing with you my apple pie bars. Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples caramelized in butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and apple cider are piled onto a buttery, crisp shortbread-like crust and topped with a crunchy walnut and oatmeal streusel topping.

This recipe makes a full 13×9 pan and can feed quite a few people (12-16) – perfect for any fall parties or get togethers. And let me tell, you these are most definitely a crowd pleaser. They will go fast. However, you can half the recipe for an 8×8 or 9×9 pan if you want less servings.

The walnut crumble topping

I really wanted this topping to highlight walnuts and oats. Both go so well with the apples and the topping provides a crunchy and chewy textural contrast to the crust and softened apples. Toast the walnuts before using, as toasting will deepen and enhance the flavor. Don’t like walnuts? You can replace the walnuts with the nut of your choice though I would recommend almonds or pecans. Make the topping after making the crust (in the same food processor bowl) then pop the topping into the fridge to keep cold until baking.

The crust

The crust is similar to a shortbread crust. This buttery, crisp, lightly sweetened crust is the perfect vehicle to pile on loads of caramelized apples. Sugar, flour and salt are combined in the bowl of a food processor, followed by room temperature butter and processed until large clumps form. Press the dough into the lined pan, using the bottom of a measuring cup to pack and even out the crust. I like to use an offset spatula to even and smooth out the top crust.

Apple Pie Filling

My apple pie filling has multiple uses so this is a good filling to make on repeat. It makes for fantastic cake filling or ice cream topping. The apples are cooked, reduced and caramelized with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and apple cider. Your kitchen will smell amazing. Let the filling cool completely before using.

If you make these apple pie bars, let me know! Drop a comment or tag me on Instagram. I love seeing your bakes and creations.

Enjoy!

Ash xx

For more fall baking recipes, check out these posts:

Mulled Apple Cider Cake Donuts

Brown Butter Maple Pecan Cookies

Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles

Chai Spiced Apple Cranberry Pie

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Apple Pie Bars

Caramelized apples made with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and apple cider on a crisp shortbread crust and topped with a walnut cinnamon oat streusel

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time1 hr 20 mins

Course: Dessert

Servings: – 16 bars

Ingredients

Crust

1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 ½ cups (420g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Walnut Oatmeal Topping

1/4 cup (38g) walnuts, chopped and toasted
¾ cup (90g) all purpose flour
⅓ cup (142g) light brown sugar, packed
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1/3 cup (59g) old fashioned oats

Apple Pie Filling

¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter
1/3 cup (142g) light brown sugar, packed
8 medium baking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced I used Granny Smith and Honeycrisp
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
⅓ cup (151g) apple cider

Instructions

Crust

Preheat the oven to 350F and line an 12×9 pan with two pieces of parchment paper which extend over the sides to give you a ‘"handles" (this helps with removing the bars easily once it is set).
In the bowl of a food processor, place the flour, sugar, and salt, and pulse to combine.
Add the butter and pulse until the mixture begins to form large clumps.
Press the dough into the prepared pan, then level and smooth it with a bench press or measuring cup. Chill the crust for 10 minutes.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the crust begins to brown. Let cool completely.

Walnut Oatmeal Topping

While the crust bakes, prepare the walnut oatmeal topping.
In the bowl of the same food processor used to make the crust, place the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Pulse to mix.
Add the butter cubes and pulse until mixture begins to stick together and form small clumps.
Add the oats and pulse to incorporate.
Remove the bowl from the food processor and remove the center blade. Stir in the walnuts. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Apple Pie Filling

In a large skillet with deep sides, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium high heat.
Add the apples to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples have softened, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the cinnamon and nutmeg along with apple cider.
Cook until the apples have caramelized, softened and the liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes.
If there is any sticking, add a tad more apple cider to the skillet to scrape off the bits to the pan. Let cool.

Assemble Bars

Once cooled, spread the apple pie filling evenly over the crust.
Evenly scatter the walnut oat topping over the apples.
Bake for 50-60 minutes until the topping has turned golden brown. Rotate the pan halfway through baking.
Let the bars cool completely on the rack before slicing and serving.

Notes

Bars can be frozen for a month.

Bars can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

I’ve been wanting to post this donut recipe for quite a while. I actually came up with the recipe for these back in July, and I’ve been (im)patiently waiting to share them with you. I wanted to create a donut that’s old fashioned, comforting and was abundantly Fall. So when I was planning the recipe for these mulled apple cider cake donuts, I decided to go the traditional route of frying them. They absolutely did not disappoint. These donuts are crispy on the outside, tender and cakey on the inside and made with apple cider, mulling spices like cinnamon, allspice, cloves and orange, and rolled in cinnamon sugar. Perfect with a cup of coffee on a cool autumn morning.

What are mulling spices?

Apple cider is delicious all on it’s own, but steep some mulling spices in it, and it’s next level amazing. Mulling spices are simply a combination of spices, usually whole, that are used to add flavor to many seasonal autumn and winter drinks, such as mulled wine, apple cider, or wassail. Any combination of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom or star anise can be considered mulling spices. Additionally, fruit is also used as well as a flavoring with mulling spices, such as orange, lemon or cranberries.

I prefer using whole spices – cinnamon sticks, allspice berries and whole cloves to steep in the apple cider. They provide more of a subtle and pure flavor, and I don’t like how much of the ground spices are left behind in the cider.

Choosing an apple cider and steeping the spices

When choosing an apple cider, choose a fresh one, usually found in the produce area or seasonal section of your grocery store. You don’t want to use the one that apple juice from the juice aisle. The best kind of apple cider is opaque with little apple bits at the bottom. This kind of apple cider is more flavorful and has a more concentrated and true apple flavor. Also, note that this is non-alcoholic apple cider.

To get maximum apple flavor, a cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice berries and some orange slices, are steeped in two cups of apple cider that simmers on the stove until the cider is reduced to 1/2 cup. The spices and orange slices are removed and the cider cools to room temperature.

How to make the donuts

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and spices. In a measuring cup, add the milk, melted butter, vanilla, egg and the warm apple cider. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture, then pour in the milk/cider mixture. Stir until it’s well mixed, and scoop the dough out onto a parchment lined sheet pan or non-stick baking mat. Give the dough a few gentle kneads to make sure the dough is sticking together. It will look pretty rough and craggy, like biscuit or pie dough. Pat the dough into a disc shape, between 3/8″ to 1/2″. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for an hour, or the freezer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, place 6 cups of vegetable, canola or peanut oil in a heavy bottom pot. I use my dutch oven for frying, as it is sturdy and conducts heat well. Clip a deep fryer thermometer to the side, making sure the glass isn’t touching the bottom of the pot. I misplaced my thermometer, and used a candy thermometer that worked just as well. You can find the equipment I use under the store tab in my website menu.

Heat the oil over medium heat until the oil reaches 370-375F. This will take some time. As the oil heats up, cut out the donuts. You can make any size you want, but for a standard size donut, use a 2 1/2″ to 3″ round cutter, or biscuit cutter. For the donut holes, you can use a 1 1/2″ round cutter, or as my mom used to do, use a floured soda bottle cap to cut out the centers. Combine the sugar and cinnamon together and whisk to combine. This will be used to roll the donuts in once they’re fried.

Once the oil is to temperature, fry two or three donuts at a time, about a minute/minute and a half on each side, taking care to not overfill the pot with donuts so the oil temperature doesn’t drop. I used a stainless steel frying spider, but you can also use the end of a wooden spoon to flip the donuts and remove from the fryer. Be super careful not to drop the donuts to avoid splashing crazy hot oil all over you.

Let the donuts drip off excess oil on a paper towel lined cooling rack for 20 seconds before rolling them in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Serve the donuts warm or at room temperature with your favorite warm beverage.

I hope that you enjoy these mulled apple cider cake donuts as much as I do! If you make them, let me know and leave a comment or tag me on Instagram.

Enjoy!

Ash xx

For more autumn recipes, check out these posts:

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Chai Spiced Apple Cranberry Pie

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Mulled Apple Cider Cake Donuts

These donuts are crispy on the outside, tender and cakey on the inside and made with apple cider, mulling spices like cinnamon, allspice, cloves and orange, and rolled in cinnamon sugar.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Chilling1 hr

Total Time1 hr 30 mins

Servings: donuts

Ingredients

2 cups (480ml) apple cider
5 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
5 whole allspice berries
2 orange slices, optional
3 ¼` cups (410g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup (60ml) whole milk
1 large egg
1/4 cup (60g) butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 cups vegetable, canola or peanut oil
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Instructions

Stirring occasionally, simmer the apple cider, cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice and orange slices, if using, in a small saucepan over low heat until the cider is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Start checking at 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, etc until you have 1/2 cup (120ml).
Remove the apple cider from the heat, and remove the spices and orange slices. Pour the cider into a measuring cup, and let it cool until warm or room temperature.
Meanwhile, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt cinnamon and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Set aside.
To the room temperature cider, whisk in the whole milk, egg, melted butter and vanilla.
Create a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the cider/milk mixture in the center of the well and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.
Scoop out the dough onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a non-stick mat. Give the dough a few light kneads to ensure everything is sticking together. The dough will be craggy.
Pat the dough to 3/8" - 1/2" thick and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or freeze for 15 minutes.
In a shallow bowl, combine 1 cup of sugar with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Meanwhile heat the vegetable oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 370-375 degrees F.
Once the dough is chilled, cut out donuts with a 2 1/2" - 3" round, biscuit or donut cutter. Use a 1 1/2" round cutter to cut out the centers.
Working in batches to not overcrowd the oil, carefully add donuts to the oil and cook until evenly golden and crispy, 1 minute per side. I use a stainless steel spider to drop in the donuts and remove them from the oil. You can also use the handle of a wooden spoon.
Transfer the donuts to a paper towel-lined cooling rack for 20 seconds; then roll warm donuts in cinnamon sugar mixture to coat. Serve warm.

Notes

The donuts can be stored for up to four or five days in an airtight container. Note that the outside will soften a bit and won't be as crispy.