I'm a big fan of the portable dessert: brownies, cookies, hand pies, things that can be eaten with your hands and are easy to transport and share. I made these bars from a mishmash of recipes for afriend's work shop opening/birthday shindig/end of summer extravaganza where there was a whole roast lamb, grilled corn on the cob, coolers full of frosty cold ones, and lots of revelers. When I unwrapped the dishtowel protecting these babies, the call of brown butter must have been irresistible because they were gone before I could even get a photo of them in the pan. I'm sure I don't have to tell you guys this, but sometimes food tastes best when scooped up with a plastic fork and washed down with an icy cold beer, napkins optional of course.

Brown Butter Apple Pie Bars
yield: one 13''x9'' pan, 24-30 bars

Note (9.10.2012): I have made these bars quite a few times since originally publishing this recipe and have found that you can reduce the butter in the crust to 12T, omit the butter in the filling, and substitute up to 3/4 whole wheat flour in both the crust and the crumb topping with no adverse results. In fact, I think the addition of whole wheat flour makes these bars taste better!

For the Brown Butter, Brown Sugar Shortbread Crust
adapted from Alice Medrich

14T butter, cut into cubes
1/2c brown sugar
2t vanilla extract
1/2t salt
2c flour

Preheat your oven to 350º and line a 13''x9'' baking dish with greased foil or parchment paper.

1. Brown the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan, stirring frequently until the milk solids turn light brown and the butter has a nutty fragrance. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. When the butter has cooled a bit add it to a medium bowl and add in the brown sugar, salt, and vanilla and stir. Add the flour and mix until completely combined, don't worry if the mixture seems a little greasy. Press it into the prepared pan and bake it until it is golden, about 20 minutes. Set the baked crust aside to cool.

While the crust is baking and cooling prepare the filling

Apple Filling
adapted from CakeSpy

2T butter
1/4c brown sugar
6 large apples, peeled and cut into thin slices (I used ginger golds and macintosh, but any pie apples would work)
1T cinnamon
1/4t freshly grated nutmeg
pinch salt

1. Melt the butter and the sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the apples stirring occasionally until they have softened and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add the spices and salt, then stir well to combine.

Crumb Topping
adapted from CakeSpy

1 1/2c oats
1c flour
3/4c light brown sugar
1t cinnamon
1/4t baking soda
3/8t salt
12T butter, softened

1. In a large bowl combine the oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt, then add in the butter and mix with your hands until it holds together in clumps.

To Assemble

Spread the apple mixture evenly over the prepared crust, then top with the crumble mixture and press down lightly.
Bake the bars at 375º for 30-40 minutes until the crumb topping is golden. Cool completely before cutting into 24-30 squares.

After college I spent a brief stint making lattes at an upscale grocery store in Seattle. I worked early, early mornings with a few fun gals and one very crazy guy, learned all of my regulars' drink orders and got to taste bread from all of the best bakeries in town. It wasn't a terrible way to spend my transition from college to real life but after about six months I had my fill and was on to bigger and better things, namely moving to New York. Now there's no shortage of delicious bread in NYC, but when I am missing home and needing a little comfort I whip out my

Macrina Bakery

cookbook and make my favorite bread from my latte days.

Rustic Potato Bread

adapted from the

Macrina Bakery & Cafe Cookbook

yield one (seriously) large loaf

1 1/4lbs russet potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes)

1/2c potato liquid (reserved from Step 1)

1T kosher salt

1 1/2t yeast

2T olive oil

3C flour (plus 1 cup for kneading)

1. Clean the potatoes thoroughly and cut into chunks. Put the potatoes, along with 1t of the salt in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then cook the potatoes for about 10 min or until they are fork tender. Drain the potatoes and reserve 1/2 of the liquid. Let the potatoes and liquid cool for about 20 min.

2. In a small bowl or measuring cup, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm potato water and let stand 5 min.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix the cooled potatoes for about 1 min. Add the olive oil and mix for a minute more, then add the potato water and yeast mixture and mix until completely combined.

4. Switch to the dough hook attachment and add the 3C of flour and the remaining 2t salt. Mix on low to incorporate the flour, then increase the speed to medium and knead for 11 min OR if you are like me and are afraid that bread dough will kill your kitchen aid, knead by hand for 10-15 min. The dough will start out very dry and shaggy, but will become soft and sticky as you knead. I usually end up adding 1/2-3/4c more flour to the mixture as I am kneading. You want the finished dough to be smooth and tacky, but not sticky.

5. When the kneading is finished, form the dough into a ball and place into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean cloth. Set the dough in a warm spot to rise for about 45 min or until the dough is almost doubled in size.

6. Once risen, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently flatten and form it into a rectangle about 10'' wide with your hands. Then, roll the dough into a tight log, leaving about 1'' of dough on the end. Use your fingers to flatten this bit of dough and dust it with flour. This will create a decorative top and allow the steam to escape from the loaf while baking. Wrap the loaf, seam side down in a floured kitchen towel and let it proof for 45min. This recipe makes a HUGE loaf of bread, so you might want to split it and make two smaller ones.

7. While the dough is proofing, preheat your oven to 400º and fill a cup with 1/2c water. Carefully unwrap the loaf and place it, seam side up, on a baking sheet. Slide the baking sheet into the hot oven, then toss the water into the bottom of the oven and quickly shut the door. The burst of steam created will give the finished loaf a nice crispy crust. Bake the loaf for about 45min or until it is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Let cool before slicing.

Notes:

Don't be tempted to peel the potatoes! The skins give the bread really great flavor and texture. Before I got the Macrina cookbook I thought the little flecks in the bread were some variety of delicious herb that I just couldn't place. That said, if you wanted to fancy this recipe up with a bit of thyme or rosemary it would probably be pretty tasty.

I've never tried, but I think this recipe would make a pretty outstanding sandwich loaf (or two) so try it out and let me know how it goes.