Apple pie bars

Ingredients

Crust
• 1 1 /4 cup (150 grams) all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 7 tbsp. (70 grams) butter very very soft(almost melted but still in solid form)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp. water
Filling
• 3-4 big apples (preferably Granny Smith)
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. water
Custard
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
Topping
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 4 tbsp. cold diced butter
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Instructions

To make the crust
1. Line a 11X7 pan with parchment paper (I prefer the pan lining paper from Reynolds), leaving some paper hanging over the longer sides.
2. In the food processor bowl add the flour, sugar, butter, egg yolk, water. Pulse a couple of times until it forms a ball. if it’s too dry add few more drops of water.
3. With floured hands roll the the into the bottom of the prepared pan, with just 1/2 inch on the sides. Cover with plastic foil and chill for 20-30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile make the topping followed by the filling and heat the oven to 375F.
5. When the crust is chilled cover it with parchment paper, fill it with dry beans/uncooked dry rice/baking beads and bake for 15 minutes.
6. Remove the paper and the beans, reduce the oven temperature to 350F and bake for 5 more minutes.
7. Cool completely.
To make the topping
8. In the food processor bowl (since it’s already dirty from the crust) add all the ingredients and pulse until it comes together. It’s gonna be a very soft dough.
9. Place it on a plastic foil, cover with another foil and shape into a 1 inch thick log. Place it in the freezer until ready to use.
To make the apple filling
10. Core and slice the apples. Optional you can peel them. I didn't.
11. Put them in a sauce pan, along with the sugar, water and cinnamon. Cover and cook over low heat for about 13 minutes or until the slices soften.
12. Remove the lid and cook a little more until the liquid evaporates. I didn’t stir at all the apple slices and the bottom ones got a little caramel on them. It was amazing!
13. Cool completely.
14. When the crust and the filling are cooled, spread the apple slices on top of the crust.
To make the custard
15. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar, and heavy cream. Pour over the apple slices.
16. Put the pie in the heated oven (350F) and bake for 25 minutes or until the custard is set.
17. Take it out of the oven (without turning off the oven) and grate the topping. I found it’s easier to grate the topping in the food processor so the heat for the hands don’t soften the dough.
18. Bake for further 15 minutes.
19. Cool completely before slicing.