Original blog post: https://spatulagoddess.com/2011/05/26/charred-apple-crumb-squares/

Time required: 3 hours

Yields: 24 pieces

Tools required:

• baking pan: 14½” x 10½”
• tin foil
• plastic wrap
• apple peeler & corer
• pastry blender

Crumb topping:

• 1 C flour
• ½ C butter (1 stick), softened
• ½ C dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 TSP ground cinnamon
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract

Crust:

• 3 C flour
• ⅓ C granulated white sugar
• ¼ TSP salt
• ¾ C cold butter (one and a half sticks)

Apple filling:

• 4 lbs of tart apples
• 4 TBSP butter
• ¾ C dark seedless raisins
• ½ C dark brown sugar, packed
• ¾ TSP ground cinnamon
• 1 TBSP powdered cornstarch
• 2 lemons (need 3 TBSP fresh lemon juice)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 191°C / 375°F.
2. Prepare topping: in medium bowl combine all the ingredients, pick it up and squish it through your hands, working all the ingredients into each other.
3. Squash it into a ball-type shape, cover in plastic wrap, and chill.
4. Line baking pan with tin foil. Grease foil.
5. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, and white sugar. Use pastry blender to cut in butter, until mixture resembles fine crumbs.
6. Press mixture into prepared pan by hand and bake 20 min. It’s normal for crust to crack. Meanwhile!
7. Prepare apple filling; peel and core the apples, and cut each slice into thirds. In a large skillet on Medium heat, cook: apples, raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
8. Stir often, this should take 25 min. It’s done when the apples are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.
9. Mix the cornstarch and lemon juice, and stir that into the apple mix to thicken it up.
10. Use spoon to spread the filling over hot crust
11. Take topping out of fridge, break into crumbs, spread onto filling.
12. Bake 40 minutes until topping is golden.
13. Cool completely in pan (2 hours) on wire rack.
14. To serve, lift dessert out of pan, peel foil off.
15. Cut lengthwise into 4 strips, then cut crosswise into 6 squares.