2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 cup white sugar
1 XL egg, room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoon heavy cream (or can use half and half)
Apple Pie Filling
4 cups Gala apples, peeled, cored, and cut into small chunks
4 tablespoon butter, unsalted
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
Glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2–3 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F, rack in the middle.
Shortbread Crust
In a bowl stir flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar together. Whisk together the egg, vanilla, cream, and butter. Pour the wet mixture into the flour and mix until the well moistened (like wet sand). Remove 1 cup of the mixture and set aside.
Line either an 8×8” pan for thicker bars (glass if you have) or a 9×13” glass pan for thinner bars with parchment paper leaving a 1” overhang. Lightly spray.
Press the remaining crust mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake for 9-11 minutes. When the crust is slightly golden brown remove it from the oven and set aside.
Make the Apple Pie Filling
While the crust is baking, make the apple pie filling mixture. In a non-stick medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat, add in the butter. Once the butter starts to melt and foam, add in the brown sugar, apples, and cinnamon. Stir constantly to prevent sticking.
Cook for 7-10 minutes or until the mixture thickens slightly. Watch your heat as you do not want your syrup to burn. Once the apples are slightly soft, remove from the heat, add in vanilla and stir. The mixture may bubble.
Assemble and Bake
Spread the apple pie filling evenly over the crust. Sprinkle the reserved crumb topping over top and pop it back in the oven. Cook for 20-25 minutes (depending on the size pan you used). I used an 8×8 and it was ~21 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan.
Make the glaze by whisking together the confectioners’ sugar and cream. I like mine a little thicker so I go with about 2 tablespoon of cream. Life the bars out of the pan by the parchment paper.
Drizzle the glaze over top the bars then cut or cut the bars first, slightly separate them from one another and then drizzle the glaze over.