Fruit Squares

Oatmeal Apple Squares

The firm, tart apples from the trees my mom's grandmother planted years ago were the best for baking.

If you ever own a piece of land, plant a heritage apple tree.

If using apples that are a little soft and sweet, reduce the amount of sugar in the topping and stir a little lemon juice into the apple slices.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Grease a 9" square pan.

Blend together:

• 1-3/4 cups rolled oats
• 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup brown sugar

Pat half the mixture into the pan.
Reserve the rest.

On top of oatmeal mixture in the pan, arrange:

• 2-1/2 cups peeled, sliced apples

Dab on:

• 2 tbsp. butter

In a small bowl, mix:

• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

On top of apples dotted with butter, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Cover with remaining oatmeal crumb mixture.

Bake 40-50 minutes at 375 degrees F till done.

Cool and cut into squares or bars.

Apple Coconut Squares

BASE:

• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 cup white flour

FILLING:

• 1 large apple sliced fine
• 1 beaten egg
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• juice of 1 medium lemon
• 1 Tbsp butter

TOPPING:

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1Tbsp melted butter
• 1-1/2 cup coconut

1. Mx butter, flour, brown sugar.
2. Pack in 8 x 8 inch pan and set aside.
3. Mix apple, egg, white sugar, lemon juice and butter in a saucepan.
4. Cook on the stove until thick. Let cool, then pour over flour mixture in pan.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
6. Mix topping and spread over apple mixture in pan,
7. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.
8. Cool and cut into squares.

Cherry Pie Bars

You could have bought these at The Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Georgia, before it closed on Valentine's Day of 2024. Try this recipe from their cookbook. 

Makes 12 large squares in a 9 x 13 inch pan.

Crust and Topping

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups white granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Fruit Filling

• 2 cups white granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• 32 oz. (two 16 oz packages) frozen sour (pie) cherries, pitted, thawed and drained

1. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with butter and line with parchment paper, allowing ends to hang over the sides of the pan a bit.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Make crust and topping: put all dry ingredients into a stand mixer bowl and using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed briefly to blend. With  mixer on low, add in butter cubes a little at a time and mix until dry and crumbly. Reserve 1-1/2 cups of mixture for the topping.
4. Press remaining mixture on the bottom of the pan, evenly.
5. Bake the crust in preheated oven 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool at least 10 minutes.
6. Make the fruit filling: in a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, flour and salt. Add beaten eggs and sour cream and whisk till smooth. Fold in drained cherries gently.
7. Pour the filling evenly over the baked crust. Sprinkle on the reserved topping.
8. Bake 45-55 minutes until top is golden brown and bubbly.
9. Remove from oven and let cool 1 hour.
10. Cut into squares.
11. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, also delicious at room temperature.