Out of all the recipes I have on this blog, I’d have to say that this recipe is probably the most loved by my family. It’s special for a lot of reasons. It was made by Dave’s Great Aunt Bunny for the holidays as long as he can remember, before she passed away. Luckily, Dave’s sister Kristy carried on the tradition and makes them every Thanksgiving! It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without them! As soon as we’re done our Thanksgiving meal, everyone grabs an apple square because they know that they’ll disappear fast! Whenever I eat them, I think of Bunny and how much she influenced me in the kitchen. She always went “all out” when it came to food! She always made a variety of desserts on special occasions so everyone had their favorite! And she made the best Birthday cakes for everyone!
If you asked anyone in our family, they would agree that these apple squares taste like apple pie, but are much better! The crust is nice and flaky and the apple filling doesn’t get runny like some apple pies do. This recipe has a special ingredient…corn flake crumbs! Trust me, it’s awesome!
You’re not going to LIKE this recipe…you’re going to LOVE it!
Apple Squares
Dough:
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 cups shortening
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups crushed cornflakes
Filling:
- 6 Granny Smith apples
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Icing
- 1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3 tablespoons water
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and cut in the shortening. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks and milk. Reserve the egg whites for later. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixure. Mix the dough until combined, form into a ball, and cut in half. Refrigerate for an hour or so.
3. In the meantime, crush your cornflakes into very fine pieces. Roll out the dough and place it on a 15 x10 sheet pan. Sprinkle all of the corn flake crumbs over the dough evenly.
4. Peel and slice the apples. Toss them with the sugar and cinnamon. Place the apples in a flat layer on top of cornflake crumbs.
5. Roll out the remaining dough, place on top of the apples layer, cut some slits to let the steam escape and seal the edges (tuck the top crust under the bottom if you need to). Beat the egg whites until foamy and brush all over the top of the crust.
6. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, until the crust is golden. Cool slightly.
7. Combine the icing ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle the icing evenly over the crust. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
I love when recipes have a story or a family tie. Your story about these bars makes them just a little more special, and I think you’re correct - these look great!
These really do look special. I love apple squares, actually anything apple!
I also make an apple bar that is very similar to this one. My husband looks forward to them every year when Jonathan Apples are in season. I love special family recipes - thank you for sharing.
This looks SOOO good! I actually have never had an apple square. I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for posting.
New follower! Cant wait to have a good look around. I’m always hunting for good recipes!
Happy New Year,
Melly
These look awesome…and I love anything with apples. But wondering if you’ve ever tried them with anything other than a granny smith? Thanks for sharing a family favorite…
Hi Marsha,
Granny Smith’s are good because they don’t get too mushy or watery by the time the crust is fully cooked.
Wow, those look incredible Jane! You’d probably have a hard time keeping the crew around here out of them until after dinner LOL! Have a great week.
I know what you mean about those memorable family dishes that just have to be there. My grandma always makes her fried shrimp and it wouldn’t be a holiday without it. Unlike your family though, no one else in our family knows how to make it. I guess we better learn. Thank you for coming by and linking this up to Sweets for a Saturday. They really do look like fantastic apple squares. I don’t think I’d be able to stop myself from cutting off sliver after sliver of those, each time telling myself, just one more. Hope that you’ll be able to join in again next week. By then, I’ll have a cute button that you can grab and add to your post.
Yum! These sound wonderful! Thanks for linking them up to Made From Scratch Tuesday!
Oh my goodness!! I haven’t had apple squares since I was a child. My great grandmother made them and they were SO incredib;y good. I remember them looking just like the ones in your photo. I’ve never had her recipe but I am betting it is the same…or at least very similar.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I am going to try to make them for sure!
So glad I discoered your blog today. I’m your newest follower 🙂
Jenn
YUM! I can’t wait to give these a try. Coming over from Prairie Story Recipe Swap. Would love to have you check out my blog and join my carnival on Thursdays. Have a great weekend. And I currently have a Girl Scout Cookie giveaway going on.
Wendy
Around My Family Table
Lovely recipes….
Please visit my blog and grab your Stylish Blogger Award 🙂
I always love recipes that are the best ever - especially when they are made with love like Aunt Bunny did. I love apple pie and so I l know I would love this too! Thanks for sharing this with us at the Hearth and Soul Hop!
I love posts that include family food memories! Aunt Bunny sounds lovely. Thank you for sharing her recipe for apple squares - they really do sound wonderful - and they look yummy too!
Hello Jane,
Found you through Hearth and Soul blog hop..your Apple squares look absolutely amazing!I liked the idea of using cornflakes…bet the crunch of the cornflakes go well with the tanginess of the apples!:)
Cheers!
Wit,wok&wisdom
l just love this apple squares receipe, the most tastiest apple receipe l had ever tasted!!!!!! lt also works for cherry squares as well, used the cherry pie filling instead of the apple, Thank-You for giving us all of your delicious secrets!!!!
Your faithful fan
Lou-Ellen
Thanks for taking the time to tell me, Lou-Ellen! I appreciate it! 🙂
This is a special recipe in our family too 🙂 My mother in law gave me this exact recipe. She’s been making it for as long as she remembers, and our family LOVES these!!!
Can you make these ahead. Is Tuesday to early to serve on Friday? Can you freeze them unbaked? They sure sound great!
Hi Jean,
We usually make them the day before we need them. I think Tuesday would be too early to make them if you’re serving them on Friday. I have never tried freezing them.
I Googled apple squares….. and when I saw the title of yours “The Best Apple Squares Ever” I figured I’d stumbled on something really yummy.
Haven’t made them yet…. but I’ve got apples sitting in my kitchen that are starting to wonder when I’m going show off their best side…..
Looking forward to them later……..
Happy cooking, baking and enjoying your day!
i learned last year how to make cranberry sauce, i might try these both with apples and with homemade cranberry sauce filled (-:
Thank you so much for sharing over at Weekend Potluck. And thank you also for linking back!! These look so good. We love anything apple in my house. And they hold such a special memory for you which makes it even more of a treasure. I’m going to share these on facebook today too. Hope you have a beautiful Sunday! ~Brandie
Thanks Brandie! 🙂
Poppin in to thank you for linking up this yummy recipe at Weekend Potluck. This sounds like such a fabulous dish…I know it’s one of your favorites, so I must try it soon. Thanks for sharing - please come back soon.
Having read this I thought it was rather informative.
I appreciate you taking the time and energy to put this informative
article together. I once again find myself spending a lot of time both reading and posting comments.
But so what, it was still worth it!
These look wonderful and I’ve been hungry for them as well as my family. I always made apple squares for my family’s pig roast but I just thought I would look at some other recipes. I’ve never seen cornflakes used on top of the crust, what is the purpose of the cornflakes? Just curious?
Sounds like the Land O Lakes recipe - delish!!!
Has anyone tried FREEZING these apple squares?
I froze them and they defrosted to room temp and were delicious!
I was having an issue on my end leaving a comment. Hope it works this time. I am looking forward to trying these. I tried a different recipe that you shared that was delicious. I am sure these are wonderful. I love the story that you shared about your family too!
Is it 2 cups cornflakes and then crushed or 2 cups already crushed
Hi Debby,
Crushed, then measured. If it sounds like a lot, you don’t need to use that much.
I was verifying consistently this web blog and I’m impressed! Extremely details specifically the last part I care for such information and facts much. I was searching for this certain details for some time