My first born believed “candy corn” was a toy until at least her fourth birthday. I’ve eased up a bit since those “no sugar” days when my banana breads were stevia sweetened, and I made cookies with raisin purée, but sugar is an ingredient I handle with care. Being a baker, taste and performance are important to me, and there are times when only sugar is going to get the job done. Like with these apple bars that my friend Elizabeth served while we played with a line of clothing she shows in her home. The apples and cinnamon and cakey-ness were delicious, but it was the crispy, crackly top crust and edge that were truly tantalizing. She shared her recipe.
Back in my kitchen, I baked several different batches: one with half sugar and half honey, one with regular C&H cane sugar, one with an organic brown sugar, and one with a light muscovado. The half-honey bars turned out very ordinary; they were cakey and had a nice flavor, but no tantalizing texture. All of the sugars produced the crust effect, but I preferred the more caramelized flavor of the brown sugars, especially the muscovado from India Tree. Will regular C&H do? Absolutely. But I encourage you to explore and taste the differences: organic v.s. not, brown v.s. white, even really brown like sucanat. Keep in mind crystal size (e.g. don’t use turbinado or demerara unless you want big chunks of sugar; I usually save large crystal sugars for sprinkling on oatmeal, scones, or shortbread) and the fact that most brown sugars have a higher moisture content than white. In moist treats like these apple bars, any combination of brown and white sugar, even 100% of either, will produce a fine result.
[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:211]
