Apple Pie Dessert

I once heard a very wise nurse, during a lecture, say: Success is not a pie with just eight slices. That single sentence has become my mantra, recited during difficult times. But in real life, pie does indeed have just eight slices, so how to feed a crowd with pie?  It's simple -- just make this apple pie dessert, which is apple pie transformed into a delicious bar cookie.

Apple Pie Dessert is an unusual (as in I'd never seen anything like this) vintage recipe. It is a bit more difficult than pie, but can feed way more than eight people, and also satisfy the guest who just wants a "tiny piece"with disturbing the symmetry of pie.

When baked and cut, these resemble generic bar cookies, and when served as part of a dessert table (as these were last night*) aren't likely to attract a lot of attention. They need a bit of marketing, like a sign that says: Apple Pie Dessert.

These three-layer bars are very sweet, taste like pie and are really good.

Start by making a two-crust pie. My go-to recipe is at the end of this post. Roll out the dough and simply patch it together to make a rectangle.

Next, pare and thinly slice five apples.

 Arrange the slices atop the unbaked pie crust.

Make the topping -- a mixture of flour, sugar and cinnamon.

The recipe says to pour this powder-like substance atop the apples. I wasn't sure it would work, so mixed some butter in half of the topping.

And blended it until it looked like this.

For half of the pan, I placed the butter mixture atop the apples. For the other half, I followed the instructions and dotted the flour mixture with butter, and lots of it.

When finished, both sides worked. The side with the butter-infused mixture had a bit more texture, but they were almost indistinguishable when cut. The picture at the top of this post has one of each kind.

Production notes: I followed the recipe exactly (except for the topping variation, above.) I baked it until it was done -- sorry to say I didn't time it (too much going on), but I'd guess it was about 30 to 40 minutes at 350 F.

For the pie crust, I used my version of the tried and true recipe published in the original c. 1980 Silver Palate Cookbook, which is pretty vintage itself at this point. This makes a double crust, the perfect amount for this recipe. 

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 stick of cold butter, cut into small pieces
6 T. cold Crisco, cut into pieces
2 t. sugar
1 t. salt
3 - 6 T. cold water

Place dry ingredients in a food processor and whirl to blend.  Add butter and Crisco and process until it resembles cornmeal. Transfer to a round bowl, and add the water, a couple of tablespoons at a time.  Blend with a fork.  When it holds together, transfer to a lightly floured surface and form a large ball.  Divide in half and either roll out between two sheets of plastic wrap, or refrigerate until it's a bit firmer and then roll out.

*We were lucky enough to be invited to Smokin' Joe's backyard BBQ last night, where the stars of the night were the hosts Joe (pictured below) and Lilly, and the roasted pig, pork, beef and lamb they served, and the lovely guests who all enjoyed the feast.  

Walnut Diamonds (or I Can't Believe There's No Butter)

We've all heard of Diamond Walnuts, but these "Walnut Diamonds" are an almost fat-free cookie that take but ten minutes to make and yields a moist, chewy, delicious and incredibly addictive treat. You truly won't believe these contain no butter! All of my tasters loved them.

This recipe card, probably dating from the 1940s or 50s, is titled Walnut Bars (Charlotte).

First step, and the most "challenging" is to chop up enough walnuts to equal one cup.

Make the batter by beating the egg and adding the dry ingredients.

The batter will be thick and sticky.

Place the batter in a greased and floured eight-inch pan. I donned non-latex gloves and smooshed (that's the technical term) the batter in the pan...

until it looked like this.

Bake it for 20 to 25 minutes.

I cut the first batch into squares, below, and the second into a diamond shape.

Production notes: I followed the recipe exactly, except I did not dissolve the baking soda in water mostly because I couldn't figure out why that needed to be done. I simply added it -- and 1/2 teaspoon of salt -- to the flour mixture.  I added the vanilla to the batter right before the dry ingredients.

The Very Best Lentil Soup

Woman doesn't live by cake alone and so I present a rare (for this blog) savory recipe -- a delicious lentil soup -- perfect for the cooler fall weather. I'm breaking from my all-sugar-all-the-time recipes because this soup is just that good. (And it looks much better in real life than in the above photo.)

This Very Best Lentil Soup recipe is courtesy my dear childhood friend Susan Zetzer who, many years ago (in the pre-internet age), hand wrote the recipe and mailed it to me from her home in San Francisco. (Susan is an amazing cook, not to mention a very successful executive in the financial world.) I make this a lot and each time I serve it to guests they request the recipe.

Below are some of the ingredients. Not pictured are the kale, the wine and the beef stock (and probably a few other things).

Susan's handwritten recipe is below, and below that is an easier-to-read typed version. It's fairly easy to make and fills the entire house with a lovely aroma.

The Very Best Lentil Soup (adapted by Susan Zetzer from Marcella Hazen)

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

4-5 large carrots, chopped

8 stalks celery, chopped

1 head kale, chopped into 1 inch strips (take out ribs)

Olive oil

½ stick butter

½ cup shredded pancetta

2/3  cup white wine

2 medium cans chopped tomatoes

1 ½ tsp. red pepper flakes (adjust the amount to your taste; some people have reported that it's too spicy with even half this amount!)

¾ pound lentils (I use French lentils, but brown lentils work fine)

2 cans beef broth and three cans water

Saute onions in olive oil and butter until yellow in a large stock pot.

Add carrots – sauté.  

Add celery – sauté together for almost five minutes, gently! 

Then add kale and sauté three minutes more.  (Do not try to cook all the vegetables at one time!)

Add tomatoes and juice, sauté over medium heat – not too fast!

Put some butter in a small sauté pan, heat it up and sauté the pancetta until it starts to curl.  Cook a little more and add the wine.  Cook until alcohol is gone and it starts to thicken.

Add lentils to the tomato-vegetable mixture and cook through five minutes

Add the pancetta and wine – cook for another minute.

Add the broth and water (more water if it gets too thick). Add the red pepper flakes.

Cook at a high enough heat so that the soup is always smiling, about 1 ½ hours, when the lentils are tender.  

Note from Susan at the bottom of the recipe: This freezes beautifully and is a very big crowd pleaser. You can make a vegetarian version but it will not have the same elusive taste that happens when pancetta and dark greens come together. You will like it with shaved Parmesan and a nice olive focaccia.

Below, a pix of Susan and me last month when she was in NYC for business. She is so sophisticated!

Date Cake

Last week, when I COULD NOT stop eating some delicious dried dates, I needed to take emergency action before I consumed the entire pound in one sitting. The solution was to bake these beauties into a wonderful date cake, a moist and yummy confection that's as good three days after it's baked as it is fresh from the oven.

Recipes featuring dates were extremely popular in the early to mid-20th century, when the vintage recipe card I used was probably written. Dried dates -- available year-round when most fruits were out of season up north -- added sweetness and moisture to all manner of baked goods.

I did not follow the confusing instructions (which I later figured out called for beating the butter, adding the sugar and THEN the egg) but simply mixing them all at once worked fine.

Spoon the batter into a greased and floured pan. I used a round pan, but this cake would be better in a square pan.

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. The edges of the cake will separate from the sides. Let it cool in the pan for about ten to 15 minutes...

before turning it out to cool completely.

Cake as Pac Man.

Because the instructions on the original recipe card are literally all over the place, I rewrote it for easy baking.

Date Cake

Preheat oven to 350 F

Grease and flour an 8 x 8 inch square or 9-inch round pan. (Square pan is best.)

1 c chopped dates
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c chopped nuts
1 c boiling water
1/2 c (one stick) unsalted butter
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla or almond extract

In a bowl, combine dates, baking soda and boiling water.  Set aside.
In another bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, cloves and salt.

Cream butter, add sugar and blend well.
Add egg and combine.
Add date mixture.  Add nuts.
Add dry ingredients and blend.
Add in flavoring (vanilla or almond)
Combine well, pour into prepared pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes.
Let cool slightly and turn out of pan.
Dust with confectioner's sugar if desired.


Production notes: Do not add the nuts to the first mixture, which is covered with boiling water. That would make them too soft. I've also found that non-pitted dates are moister, so I use those, but the pitted ones would also be fine, especially because they are softened by the boiling water.

Sea-Foam Nut Squares

The vintage recipe card for Sea-Foam Nut Squares was calling my name for a long time and last week I succumbed. I'm glad I did. These brown-sugar meringue topped bar cookies are so delicious, it's hard to figure why they never caught on. They have a lot of flavors and textures -- and they feed a crowd. (In fact, three separate departments at Henry Street Settlement, my place of employ, enjoyed the sea-foam bars and all raved about them.)

Start by making the base, a fairly straight-forward, albeit sticky, cookie dough.

Spread it on a well-greased (or parchment covered) baking sheet.

Don't worry if it doesn't reach the corners.

Next, start the topping. Whip the egg whites until they are firm and have stiff peaks. To prevent over-whipping, add some cream of tartar or a bit of salt.

Gradually add in the brown sugar, whipping after each addition.

Spread the meringue on top of the cookie layer.

Sprinkle on the nuts. I used pecans, but any nut would work well.  

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the meringue is dry.

Cut into squares while still a bit warm.

The end scraps are for the cook.

The instructions on the recipe card are very confusing to us modern folk, so I've rewritten them for clarity.

Sea-Foam Nut Squares

Preheat oven to 325 F

For the base:
1/2 c butter
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
2 egg yolks
2 T. cold water
1/2 t. vanilla
2 c flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
1/8 t baking soda
1/4 c. milk

Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together and set aside.
Cream the butter, add the sugar and blend well.
Add the brown sugar and mix well.  Add the egg yolks, water and vanilla.  Mix until well combined.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk until combined.

Grease a 15 x 10 inch pan (or two 9 x 9 pans), but a lower-sided pan is easier.  Spread the base mixture evenly, using an offset spatula, the back of a spoon or a butter knife. Set aside.

For the topping:
2 egg whites
1 1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1 c chopped nuts

Beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry.  Gradually add the brown sugar, beating well after each addition.  Spread this mixture over the base and sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Bake 25 to 35 minutes until the meringue topping is dry.  Cut into squares.