Joyce’s Sour Cream Apple Squares

This fast, crispy-chewy, layered apple dessert should go on your to-do list every fall and stay there. You can thank my dear, dear friend, the late Joyce Smith and, it turns out, many others! A popular recipe that won the 1975 Pillsbury Bake-off, Sour Cream Apple Squares paid its baker Luella Maki from Ely, Minnesota $25,000 and found its way all over the country long before the internet. Remember recipe cards and snail mail?! I’ve tweaked it just a tiny bit and perhaps you should, too. Bake on.

Makes (one) 9x13 pan

Ingredients

Bottom Layer: (You’ll use 2 ¾ cups of this mixture for the bottom layer and the rest goes into the mixture for the top layer.)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups brown sugar
½ cup (8 tablespoons) butter at room temperature
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Top Layer:

Remainder of bottom layer crumb mixture
1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg at room temperature, beaten
2 cups finely chopped apples (I cored, but did not peel these and then chopped them in the food processor.)

Powdered sugar or whipped cream for garnish

Instructions

BOTTOM LAYER: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and set rack at center. Combine the flour, brown sugar, butter, and walnuts well in a medium bowl. Measure out 2 ¾ cups (set aside the remainder) and press it evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 metal baking pan. I used the food processor but added the chopped nuts by hand so they wouldn’t become finely ground.
TOP LAYER: Into the reserved crumb mixture, stir the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, soda, salt, sour cream, vanilla, and egg until well-combined. Add the apples and stir again until thoroughly mixed. Spoon the top layer mixture over the crumb base and use a rubber spatula to even it out.
BAKE, COOL, SERVE WITH GARNISH: Bake about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when stuck into the center, turning once midway through baking time. Cool on a rack at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving dusted with powdered sugar or topped with a dollop of whipped cream. Store these moist squares a day or two tightly covered on the counter and in the refrigerator 4-5 days. I have not frozen it but am guessing it would be good for a month in the freezer or so if well-wrapped.

Notes

If you live in a hot, humid climate, store this dessert in the refrigerator right after cooling and serving.