granny smith apple crumble bars

*burp* A bunch of us girls just gathered together for a very big lunch. Candy made delicious eggless omelette and Jayce made ondeh-ondeh! Check out their blogs- I helped them create it today! *excited smiles* Well, as usual, i had something up my sleeve. *mischievous look* I made granny smith crumble bars and steamed turnip cake. (the turnip cake was for Jayce since she didn't get to try it last time). I decided to make these bars when i stumbled upon Cream puffs in Venice recipe last night. They looked good and I had all the ingredients in my fridge. Another article that I have to shared is from Tim's blog called, "A man worth marrying." Single girls, this story puts things into perspective. Hmm..I wonder who and how my future husband will be? *_^ *big laughs*

I modified it by reducing the amount of sugar, omitting brandy and using grape seed oil instead of melted butter for the topping, Threw in some shortcuts...they are described below. It is not as much work as it looks.

my modified recipe::::
Sweet Pastry Crust
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar ( or 1/4 cup)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg yolk
5 tsp. cold water (the original recipe requires 2 tsp.)
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place a rack in the centre of the oven. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan.
Mix together flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter pieces to the flour mixture and using a pastry cutter, knead it until the mixture resembles coarse oatmeal.
Whisk together the egg yolk, water and vanilla extract. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix until the dough begins to come together. More water can be added if the dough is still dry.
Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, pat the dough into an even layer. Bake until the crust is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool completely. Prick with a fork.

Apple Filling
1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples (4 to 5 medium)
3 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp. frozen apple juice concentrate
2 tsp. cornstarch
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Peel and core the apples and then cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
In a bowl, mix the apples, lemon juice, concentrate, cornstarch.
In a large skillet, melt the butter and then add the brown sugar. Stir well and be sure that there are no lumps.
Add the apple mixture to the skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the apples are soft, but not too soft.
Transfer mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar ( can be omitted)
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
7 tbsp. grape seed oil

In a bowl, combine all of the topping ingredients. Mix well so that all the ingredients are thoroughly moistened. Set aside.

Sour Cream Mixture
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup currants /chopped raisins/ dried wild blueberry/ chocolate chips (optional)

Mix the sour cream into the cooled apple mixture. Spread this mixture evenly over the cooled pastry crust.
Sprinkle the prepared topping evenly over the apple and sour cream mixture.
Bake the bars for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden around the edges.
Cool the bars completely before cutting into squares.