The nutritious grain millet is used to make this delicious Cinnamon Apple Bars With Millet Crust Recipe.
Cinnamon Apple Bars with Millet Crust
The sturdy crust of these bars is a cookie in itself, and cradles a tangy filling. If you can’t find millet flour, grind millet 1/4 cup at a time in a coffee or spice grinder until it’s a fine powder.
Crust
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups millet flour, finely ground
1 cup unbleached flour
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Topping
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
5 medium Granny Smith apples (about 5 cups cored and sliced)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp cornstarch
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, then beat in powdered sugar, zest, vanilla, salt and egg. Mix the flours in thoroughly. Coat a 9-inch square baking pan with butter, then press the mixture into it and up the sides about half an inch. Prick the crust with a fork and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden and firm.
While the crust bakes, melt the topping’s butter in a sauté pan over medium heat, then add the apples. When they are soft and browned in spots, add the brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins, stirring until the sugar melts. In a cup, stir the lemon juice and cornstarch together, then add them to the apples. Cook a few more minutes, until bubbly and thick.
Pour the apples into the crust and bake for 10 minutes, then cool.Slice 3-by-3 to make 9 bars.
Highly Recommended by the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Editors:
The New Whole Grains Cookbook: Terrific Recipes Using Farro, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Barley, and Many Other Delicious and Nutritious Grains by Robin Asbell (Chronicle, 2007). The millet recipes reprinted here only hint at the wide world of flavors and textures that awaits you when you begin incorporating nutritious whole grains into your diet. Order now.
Robin Asbell is the author of The New Whole Grains Cookbook: Terrific Recipes Using Farro, Quinoa, Brown Rice, Barley, and Many Other Delicious and Nutritious Grains (Chronicle, 2007).
Read more about using whole grain millet in meals: Tap the Culinary Wisdom of Our Ancestors: Whole Grain Millet Recipes.
