Apple Kuchen Recipe

Hello, there!  In my last post I mentioned the apple kuchen that I made recently, so today I thought I'd share the recipe.

There are many different variations of apple kuchen, but mine is kind of a cross between pie and bars.  First you make the bottom crust, by combining:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 Tablespoons sugar

Work these ingredients together until they form a soft dough, then pat the dough into a square baking dish.  Build up the edges a little bit, so that they will hold in the filling.

For the filling, mix 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or apple pie spice in a small bowl.  Thinly slice two apples (peeled or not, your choice), dip each slice in the cinnamon sugar, and arrange the slices in rows on top of the shortbread crust.

Finally, for the top crust, combine:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (I like fat-free, but regular works, too)

This mixture will be wet and sticky.  Spread it over the rows of apples.  Then bake the kuchen for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

After the kuchen cools, cut it into squares.  It looks a bit homely in the pan, but it still tastes good.

Once I tried to make it look prettier by alternating slices of yellow and green apple and using white sugar instead of brown sugar in the crust.  But I'm not sure whether that actually looks any prettier.

In any case, kuchen does look nicer once individual slices are placed on serving plates.  It's a triple delight: the shortbread-like bottom crust, the juicy apple layer, and the tender top crust.

~white sugar version~

~brown sugar version~

I have to smile about that last photo.  I have been trying to cut down on my caffeine intake, so I'm limiting myself to two cups of coffee per day.  The deprivation has been...challenging.  On this day, I was so excited to get my daily coffee allotment that I drank half the cup before I remembered to snap a picture for the blog.

To find out what kinds of tea, coffee, and other drinks creative bloggers have been enjoying lately, do check out T Stands for Tuesday, the weekly online "tea party" that I am linking to today.