*Inset Name Here* Pie Bars

I have a favorite recipe of mine that I make a lot and share a lot. For the most part everyone who has tasted these bars love them! They're a crazy mix between pies, bars, and blondie brownies. At least when it comes to flavor and texture. I got them from Emily who called them "Julie Pie Bars" because they were from a friend of hers named Julie. So I called them "Emily Pie Bars" for a while. So you have a choice between Julie, Emily, Sarah, or whatever name you want. Or I name them after whatever pie filling I use, too. Another great thing about this recipe is it's so simple! Really! And you can make them any flavor you want. I've done apple, cherry, and blueberry before. Blueberry is my favorite!

You will need:

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 can of fruit pie filling

powdered sugar

milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl cream together the sugar, butter, and vanilla. I melt my butter in the microwave for a little bit first to make it soft enough. 

Once creamed together it will look like the picture to the right. Make sure there are no butter chunks. Once you have a smooth mixture add in the eggs and baking powder. Mix slightly before adding the flour. I find that getting the eggs to mix smoothly is a little harder when there's flour involved. Your finished mixture will be a little stickier than cookie dough.

On a greased cookie sheet spread about 2/3 of the mixture. Try to make it cover the entire pan without any holes. Since the mixture is a little thick and sticky, this part can be hard. It's normally easier to smoosh it down with the spatula than to try and smear it. 

After that spoon the pie filling on top. Evenly dispense all the chunky parts. 

With the remaining 1/3 of the mixture, scoop balls of dough on top of the pie filling. Then marble mix it up with a knife. Be as messy as you want, but make sure you don't go all the way to the pan. You don't want the pie filling to burn to the bottom and mess up your bars. I mean it when I say the messier the better! Here's what mine looked like before I put it in the oven. 

It really looks kinda gross and not like something you would want to eat, but trust me, you are going to want to eat it! Cook it for about 30 minutes until the top of the dough starts to brown a bit. 

Here's the ALMOST finished product. I then add a simple glaze for a topping. I just mix powdered sugar with milk. Start with about 1 cup powdered sugar then add a tiny tiny bit of milk at a time. Make it as thick or runny as you want. Runnier will coat the entire pan with a uniform thin coating, thicker will be more of a drizzle. I use the thicker option because I like it that way, but if I ever add too much milk it's no big deal. Let it cool and the glaze harden a bit before cutting and serving. 

These pie bars really are a favorite of mine! I make them regularly. I do not like fruit pies too much, but i love these. The ratio of pie filling to bar is something I really enjoy. And since you can just pile them in a bucket like cookies you can snack on them for as long as they will last. But I must warn you: that won't be for very long! Mwahahahahah!