These Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars are to die for! Layers of buttery graham cracker crust, a luscious cheesecake center and the most incredible pecan pie praline topping make for an irresistible bar recipe!

I cannot believe it is almost Thanksgiving!

We are likely going to have a smaller one this year which is fine since I usually have to do the majority of the cooking. I cannot fathom the families who prepare feasts for guests in the double digits – you guys are crazy talented! I can handle maybe 8 or less, though in our case it’ll probably be 3-5.

We will definitely have apple pie because it’s a favorite of everyone’s, but I am going to HAVE to make these Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars even if there will be more desserts than people at the Thanksgiving table. These are SO delicious – seriously mind-blowing! – and instantly catapulted themselves as one of my new favorite desserts I’ve made this year!

Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars

These bars have three layers to them and they’re all super easy, I promise! The first layer is your graham cracker crust, which consists of graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and some sugar for sweetness. You’ll mix it all together until moistened and press it into a 13×9″ baking pan that’s been lined for foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup. (You’ll thank me later!). Pre-bake this for a minute to help it set while you prepare the cheesecake layer.

The cheesecake layer consists of cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, some sour cream for added tanginess, and a little pinch of flour to help stabilize everything. Beat it all together until it is nice and smooth, taking care to scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl so there are no lumps. You’ll spread this cheesecake layer evenly onto the graham cracker crust and bake the bars until nice and set.

While the bars bake, you’ll make your final layer – the pecan pie topping! This topping is not like a traditional pecan pie filling in that there are NO eggs, so it doesn’t need to bake. It has the consistency when set of a pecan praline candy almost where it yields when you bite into it, but has that familiar and nostalgic pecan pie flavor. The ingredients for this are butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, corn syrup, and pecans. You’ll boil it together and pour it on top of the baked cheesecake bars.

All you have to do is let the bars set in the fridge before cutting into squares. Believe me – that is by far the hardest part. Once you catch a whiff of that pecan pie filling cooking on the stove, you’re going to want to dig in, but chilling them is mandatory!

The combination of the creamy cheesecake, sweetened graham crackers and buttery pecan pie topping is outstanding! I know you’re going to absolutely ADORE these Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars!

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Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars

These Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars are seriously DECADENT! Layers of graham cracker crust, creamy cheesecake and a divine pecan pie praline topping make for an outstanding layered bar you're going to love!

Course Bars, Pie

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 4 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 4 hours hours 55 minutes minutes

Servings 15 bars

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST:

• 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE CHEESECAKE:

• 16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

FOR THE PECAN PIE TOPPING:

• 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2½ cups chopped pecans

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a 13x9" light metal baking pan with parchment paper or foil, extending the sides of the paper or foil over the edges of the pan. Spray with cooking spray; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter and stir until moistened and mixture resembles wet sand. Pour the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and press it into an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, but keep oven on.
• While the crust bakes, prepare your cheesecake filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the cream cheese for about 1 minute with the paddle attachment. Add in the sugar and mix well, followed by the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the sour cream, flour, and vanilla extract and mix well, scraping down the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl to ensure no lumps.
• Pour the cheesecake filling evenly over the pre-baked crust and smooth out the top. Return to the oven and bake for another 30-35 minutes or until the center appears set and does not jiggle.
• While the cheesecake bars bake, prepare your pecan pie topping: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in the corn syrup, heavy cream, brown sugar and mix well. Add in the vanilla extract and pecans and stir well. Allow the mixture to come to a boil and boil, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and evenly pour over the cheesecake while it is still warm, carefully spreading into an even layer (be gentle as the warm cheesecake will be delicate).
• Cool completely at room temperature, then refrigerate to set completely for about 4 hours before cutting into bars.

These bars are sinful, decadent, and oh so delicious! You’re going to absolutely go nuts for them!

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

These Dutch Apple Pie Bars combine your favorite flavors of Dutch apple pie but in an easy bar recipe! Complete with a homemade pastry crust, softened cinnamon-spiced apples and an irresistible Dutch crumb topping!

Fall is officially here and I couldn’t be more excited! Bring on the pumpkin patch, sweaters, and ALL the apple-y recipes!

I am definitely more on Team Apple than Team Pumpkin, and after taste-testing these bars, that idea was basically cemented in stone and then encased in steel. These bars are extremely delicious – I would even venture to say addictive. In fact, over the course of a few days, I basically ate the entire pan myself!

Dutch Apple Pie Bars

These Dutch Apple Pie Bars have a few components to them to make these truly the best. Those components are:

• The Crust: the crust consists of a homemade pastry crust made of simply pantry ingredients like flour, salt, an egg yolk, butter, and milk. You’ll pulse it together in a food processor until it resembles a ball of dough, then refrigerate it while you prepare the filling.
• The Apple Pie Filling: this is obviously made of – you guessed it – apples! I like to use a mixture of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp because I love the flavors of the two of them together. However, you can use one or the other if you don’t want to use a combination. In addition to diced, peeled apples, we’re going to coat them with light brown sugar and granulated sugar, some flour (to thicken the coating), spices, and a little vanilla extract for flavor.
• The Dutch Crumble: of course, for a Dutch apple pie bar, it needs to have that signature Dutch crumble topping! This will be made from the usual ingredient suspects, including butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Super simple, and yields a buttery, soft crumble topping.

Everything comes together pretty quickly, and once the components are ready, you’ll assemble the bars!

First goes the pastry crust in a lined pan (I like lining with parchment) whereupon you’ll pre-bake the bottom crust. This just gives it a little added insurance that it is done and can better support the heavier filling and topping.

Once it has pre-baked slightly, you’ll add your filling and topping. Pile it on HIGH and thick, because every self-respecting apple pie has a thick filling!

Bake it up, and let it cool before slicing into bars!

These Dutch Apple Pie Bars are seriously DIVINE! Filled with gooey, spiced apples, a buttery Dutch crumble topping and the most amazing pastry crust, you’re going to LOVE these easy bars!

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Dutch Apple Pie Bars

These Dutch Apple Pie Bars are mind-blowingly good! Layers of flaky pastry crust, gooey spiced apple filling and a buttery Dutch crumble topping make for a supremely delicious bar!

Course Bars, Pie

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed

FOR THE APPLE FILLING:

• 4 cups apples, peeled and diced (about 4 medium - I used a mixture of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

FOR THE DUTCH CRUMB:

• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350℉. Line an 8" square light metal baking pan with parchment paper or foil, extending the sides of the parchment or foil over the edges of the pan. Spray the foil or paper lightly with cooking spray; set aside.
• First, make your pastry crust. In a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt until mixed. Add in the egg yolk, cubed butter and milk and pulse until a soft dough comes together into a ball shape. Roll the dough ball in a piece of plastic wrap and briefly refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
• Toss the diced, peeled apples together with the sugars, flour, spices and vanilla until fully coated. Set aside. For the Dutch crumble, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt until crumbly. Set aside.
• Unroll your pie dough in an 8" square shape. Place it evenly into the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until slightly puffed. Remove from oven, but keep oven on. Top the crust with the apples in an even layer, as well as any juices from the apple bowl, followed by the Dutch crumble crumbled evenly over the top.
• Return to the oven and bake for an additional 40-45 minutes or until light golden brown on the top and appears set. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars.

I know you’re going to LOVE these! They’re surely going to be in my autumn recipe rotation!

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Dutch Apple Pie Bars first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

This Homemade Fruit Tart is seriously incredible – with a buttery shortbread crust, a homemade vanilla pastry cream, and fresh berry topping, it’s a MUST make.

Well, we’ve officially hit the midway point of summer and I can’t say I’m sad. Sacramento has finally hit the unbearably hot temperature-level on the scale and I am over it. Bring on the fall!

However, I am enjoying all the summer fruits right now, so I wouldn’t mind holding onto those for a little longer. The berries are just so good right now.

Speaking of berries, they happen to be an excellent little topper in today’s recipe. And lemme tell you – this recipe is SO incredible.

Homemade Fruit Tart

I admit, I don’t think I had ever had a proper fruit tart prior to making this one. I have had various mixed-fruit desserts in my time but never a fruit tart, and this blew me away. It’s quite literally the perfect recipe. You’ve got the shortbread crust that’s buttery and cookie-like. You’ve got the homemade pastry cream filling that’s vanilla-y and luscious. And you’ve got the fresh berries on top which just add the perfect little bit of fruity freshness to the tart.

In a word: spectacular! But I choose to use more adjectives to really sell ya on it!

The Crust

The crust is basically a shortbread cookie crust consisting of all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, some salt, and melted butter mixed together until it becomes a dough. You’ll press it into a tart shell or a springform pan, which is what I used since I somehow misplaced my tart pan along the way.

We’ll bake the crust up for about 20-30 minutes to get it nice and toasted as our base for the fruit tart.

The Filling

The filling is a classic vanilla pastry cream (hi, for all us non-fancy folks, it’s essentially a homemade vanilla pudding) and it is surprisingly simple to do – it just has a couple steps. The required ingredients are whole milk, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste if ya wanna get fancy schmancy), cornstarch, salt, and butter. I mean… you can’t go wrong with that lineup!

However, me being me, I’m also gonna let you know that you could toooootally make instant vanilla pudding out of the box and use it instead. Priorities!

The Topping

For the topping, I used fresh berries: strawberries, bluebs, blackberries and raspberries, but you could theoretically use any sliced fruits you’d like. This would be beautiful with all dark berries fruits, for instance, or all red fruits. Stone fruits would be another beautiful look for late summer.

Once assembled, you’ll get a bite of that sturdy, buttery crust; the creamy, vanilla-y filling and those tart, bright berries altogether and it will be HEAVENLY, I tell you! You’re going to LOVE this Fruit Tart recipe!

*recipe very modestly adapted from Alison Roman

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Homemade Fruit Tart

This Homemade Fruit Tart is buttery, creamy, vanilla-y and filled with bountiful fruit! You're going to LOVE this simple but delicious dessert.

Course Dessert, Pie

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 5 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 6 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

FOR THE TART CRUST:

• 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE PASTRY CREAM & TOPPING:

• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 8 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• Assorted fresh fruit, sliced or cut in half if large

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350℉.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, confectioners sugar and salt together. Add in the melted butter and mix with a rubber spatula until the mixture comes together to form a soft dough. Press the dough into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom OR a 9" round springform pan.
• Prick holes all over the bottom of the tart crust with the tines of a fork. Bake until the bottom is nicely golden brown and the edges are slightly crisp, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
• For the pastry cream: In a medium saucepot, combine the milk and ½ cup of the sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, but do not boil. Once at a simmer, remove from heat.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, the egg yolks, cornstarch, vanilla bean paste/extract, and salt. This mixture will be really grainy and coarse at this stage, so don't fret. Working carefully but quickly, slowly pour a cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking vigorously at a constant pace to prevent egg yolks from scrambling and to temper the egg mixture. Repeat by adding more milk to the egg mixture, whisking vigorously to incorporate, until all the milk has been incorporated.
• Return the now cohesive mixture back to the saucepot the milk was simmering in, and place it on medium heat. Whisking constantly, the mixture will go from having small bubbles around the edges of the pot to deep, big bubbles in the center of the pot and will thicken significantly, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter.
• Transfer the pudding to a heatproof bowl and cover the top of the pudding with plastic wrap (actually place the plastic wrap onto the surface of the pudding to prevent the pudding from forming a "skin"). Refrigerate until cooled.
• To assemble: spread about half of the pudding onto tart crust in an even layer, bringing it close to the edges. Top with the fruit of your choice. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set, or until ready to serve.

Notes

Note: you WILL have leftover pudding! Store it in the fridge and make fruit parfaits with any leftover fruit you may have. 

This Fruit Tart totally rocked my world, and I know it will rock yours too!

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Homemade Fruit Tart first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

These Sugar Pie Squares are buttery, gooey, caramelly and absolutely DIVINE!

Each year, I make something that totally blows me away and this year, these Sugar Pie Squares may have knocked the socks clear off my feet. Lemme tell you, they are very humble looking but the flavor will send you into another orbit. Seriously mind-blowing.

When a recipe is kind of basic and straightforward like this (aka, doesn’t have a ton of bells and whistles like candy and sprinkles and blah blah blah) I recommend using the highest quality ingredients you can find. That means high quality butter, pure vanilla extract. Splurge for the good stuff because you can really tell the difference!

Sugar Pie Squares

I tore this recipe out of a magazine but I cannot remember what magazine it came from. All I know is it was delicious and will definitely go in our family’s rotation year after year!

First, we’ll begin with the crust. The crust has a few simple pantry ingredients, including:

• Flour
• Sugar
• Salt
• Cold, cubed butter
• Pure vanilla extract

We’ll pulse it all together in a food processor to make things really easy and then pat it into the bottom of a parchment-lined baking pan. Bake it off for a few and then work on the filling.

The filling is equally as easy as the crust. We’ll simply whisk together some brown sugar, heavy whipping cream (adds so much delicious richness), eggs, butter, cornstarch (to thicken the filling and maintain structure during and after baking), pure vanilla extract, and salt. Pour it over the crust and return the pan to the oven to finish baking.

The center may still jiggle a little, and that’s okay – but it shouldn’t be sloshing in the pan. The bars will be bubbly and caramelly brown and smell like HEAVEN on Earth. But you absolutely must *sad face* wait for them to cool and chill at least 6 hours. I promise, they are worth their wait and then some.

The result is a bar with a shortbread like crust and a gooey, caramelly, brown sugary, absolutely divine filling that will make you roll your eyes back into your head. It’s that good.

Enjoy!

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Sugar Pie Squares

These Sugar Pie Squares look humble, but are absolutely mind-blowing in the flavor department! Buttery, gooey, caramelly squares of total heaven on a shortbread crust. A must make!

Course Bars, Dessert

Cuisine Dessert

Prep Time 6 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 6 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 16 squares

Equipment

• Food Processor recommended

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp granulated white sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:

• 1½ cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Line an 8-inch square light metal baking pan with parchment paper, extending the sides of the parchment paper over the edges of the pan. Spray the parchment lightly with cooking spray; set aside.
• For the crust: In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and pulse until just combined. Add in the cold, cubed butter and vanilla extract and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven, but leave oven on.
• Meanwhile, make the filling while the crust bakes. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, heavy whipping cream, melted butter, cornstarch, vanilla extract and salt until well combined. Pour over the crust.
• Bake until the top is set but only slightly jiggly in the center, about 25-30 minutes. It should not be sloshing around in the pan but if it jiggles a little bit, that's okay. Bubbling around the edges and deep coloring are normal. Let cool completely at room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for at LEAST 4-6 hours or until set before cutting into bars.

Notes

Because this recipe is so simple and doesn't use any fancy extra add-ins like candies or sprinkles, I like to splurge for higher quality ingredients like creamery butter and pure vanilla extract to really let those flavors shine.

These Sugar Pie Squares are going to be a HIT with your family as well, I just know it!

Craving more sugar? Check out this recipe!

Chocolate Peppermint Chess Pie

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Sugar Pie Squares first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

It is FINALLY FALL!

For those of you who live in a more temperate climate, you had fall long ago. But for us Sacramentans, fall arrived yesterday and I cannot explain my utter BLISS. No more 80, 90 and 100+ degree days! No more brutal, excruciating summer weather! I cannot contain my excitement.

What better way to kick off Californian’s belated fall than with a pumpkin pie? But this is no ordinary, regular degular pumpkin pie. This one has a cheesecake bottom. A two-layer cheesecake pie, if you will. It’s spectacular and had my neighbors begging for seconds.

Introducing: Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake. A dream, really!

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

You won’t believe how EASY this is to bake. It only looks complicated with its beautiful layers!

First, you’ll need a crust. I went the semi-homemade route and used a store-bought 9″ graham cracker crust because that’s my prerogative. Then, you’ll make your cheesecake base which consists of cream cheese (obviously), some sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Simple enough, yes? Spread part of that creamy cheesecake layer in the bottom of your crust.

THEN you’re going to create your pumpkin layer. To the remaining cheesecake batter, you’ll add your pumpkin puree and a bunch of spices to make it deliciously pumpkin-y. Mix her up and pour that glorious orange-colored beauty over the cheesecake layer in the crust carefully, trying not to swirl the layers together. It looks gorgeous with its distinctive white and orange layers!

Bake it up until it is mostly set (a little jiggle in the middle is okay) and let her cool. Then refrigerate until totally set and serve!

A mountain of fresh whipped cream is absolutely essential, but vanilla ice cream a la mode would be fantastic as well.

How long will my cheesecake last?

Your pumpkin cheesecake will last airtight in the refrigerator about 4 days.

Can I freeze my cheesecake?

Yes, this cheesecake can be frozen. Simply wrap the entire cheesecake or pre-sliced pieces in plastic wrap, then in foil and freeze up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

Pumpkin-y, spicy, creamy and sweet – this delicious Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake will be a huge hit at your next gathering!

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Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

This Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake has everything: a creamy vanilla cheesecake base, a pumpkin spice pie topping and a buttery graham cracker crust all in one easy dessert mashup! Your guests will LOVE this incredible pie!

Course Cheesecake, Pie

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 8 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 9 hours hours

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

For the Cheesecake Layer:

• 1 9" prepared graham cracker crust (deep dish recommended)
• 16 oz (Two 8 oz packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Pumpkin Pie Layer:

• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree (such as Libby's 100% pure pumpkin)
• 1¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325° degrees F. Place the graham cracker crust on a rimmed baking sheet just in case there's any spillage during baking.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and granulated sugar with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 1 minute. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla extract. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure everything is well combined and mixture is creamy and smooth.
• Spread 1 cup of the cheesecake mixture into the bottom of the prepared crust. To the remaining bowl of cheesecake batter, add in the pumpkin puree and spices and mix well until fully incorporated. Carefully cover the plain vanilla cheesecake layer with the pumpkin pie layer in the crust, smoothing out the top evenly.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the top is mostly set. If the middle jiggles just a little bit, that is normal and it will continue to set up more as it cools and refrigerates, but it should NOT be sloshing around in the pan. Cool to room temperature for about 1 hour, then refrigerate for at LEAST 4 hours, preferably overnight before serving.

Notes

Instead of the separated spices listed, you can use 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice. 

This cheesecake pie is SO dreamy and perfect for those who want two desserts in one!

Craving more pumpkin? Check out this recipe…

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Pie

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

These Apple Pie Bars are surprisingly simple to make and great for feeding a crowd! They will be one of my go-to recipes from now on!

I love me some apple pie. In fact, it is my favorite flavor of pie (besides banana cream – those are in a neck-and-neck tie) but making it can be kind of.. annoying? Traditional pies can be so finicky, but not this recipe.

This recipe is for apple pie BARS which means the pie is a slab pie baked in a 13×9 rectangular baking pan rather than a round pie dish. This simple pan swap is key to making this recipe so much easier in my humble opinion. Not only does it stretch the recipe further so you get more apple pie for your buck, there’s less fuss over crimping pie dough, making special designs, etc. you’d need to do for a traditional pie.

Apple Pie Bars

These bars are surprisingly easy to make and begin with a homemade buttery pastry crust. I know I usually take crust shortcuts with prepared crusts for my pies, but this one is so simple! You literally throw flour, an egg yolk, some milk, salt, and butter into a food processor and pulse it until a dough comes together. I mean, how easy is that right?

Next, you’ll press half of pie crust into your prepared pan. Top it with your seasoned apple filling (that is just sliced, peeled Granny Smith apples, vanilla, flour, sugar and spices) and top it with the remaining crust. The most difficult part is topping it with the second half of the pie crust and trying to fit it over the filling, but I promise, it’s still doable and very easy!

To add some sparkle and crunch, I like to brush the top with a little egg wash and sprinkle some turbinado sugar over the top before baking. This adds great texture, a little crunchy, sparkly sugar action and looks fantastic.

Then you’ll bake these beauties up and get the most glorious slab apple pie bars everrrrr.

The combination of the buttery, flaky pie crust with those gooey, cinnamon-spiced apples is absolute heaven! I know you’re going to love these.

*slightly adapted from Love Grows Wild

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Apple Pie Bars

These Apple Pie Bars are seriously INCREDIBLE! The combination of the buttery, flaky pie crust with the gooey, cinnamon spiced apples is heaven!

Course Dessert, Pie

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 16 bars

Ingredients

For the Pastry Crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup milk (2% or whole milk)

For the Apple Filling:

• 5 cups peeled, cored and diced apples (I used a mixture of Granny Smith & Honeycrisp)
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

For the Topping:

• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 3 Tbsp turbinado sugar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Line a 13x9" rectangular light metal baking pan with foil or parchment. Spray the foil or parchment with cooking spray; set aside.
• In a food processor, add the flour and salt; pulse to mix. Add in the diced cold butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add in the egg yolk and milk and pulse until a soft dough comes together and can be formed into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
• For the filling: In a large bowl, combine the apples, vanilla extract, sugars, flour, and spices and mix well, ensuring the apples are thoroughly coated.
• To assemble: Cut the pastry dough in half and roll out one half of dough into a 13x9" size rectangle. Gently drape the pie dough over your rolling pin and unroll it into your prepared pan in an even layer. Fill the pie layer with the diced apples, including the juices. Roll out the remaining pastry slightly larger than 13x9" size. Drape it over your rolling pin and unroll it gently over the apple pie filling. It should be slightly larger than the filling. Try to tuck the oversize edges around the pie for a crust, taking care to try and seal in the apple filling.
• Brush the top of the pie crust with the lightly beaten egg wash. Sprinkle evenly with the turbinado sugar. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until golden brown and pie crust appears set. Cool for at least 1 hour before serving.

Notes

I like to use a mixture of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples for my pies, but all Granny Smith may be used. 

These Apple Pie Bars are so heavenly!

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

Craving more apple-y goodness? Check out this recipe…

Apple Cider Doughnut Cake

The post Easy Apple Pie Bars first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

Last month I moved from one apartment to another within the same complex, and I have to say, I have felt SO happy in my new place.

The happiness and mental health attitude shift was IMMEDIATE when I moved to my new unit. So much so that followers on Instagram and even my mail carrier have made comments about it. I love it!

With this newfound happiness comes an abundance of creativity: my side jewelry-making business, Just Rebel Jewelry on Etsy is doing SO well and I have TONS of ideas constantly pouring through me, and I have been coming up with amazing recipe content for Domestic Rebel. Overall, things are good!

BUT! Enough about me. Let’s talk about this seriously crave-worthy pie!

I initially got the idea while waiting for my sandwich to be made at the local grocery store. Underneath the sandwich making case they have a cold case they often display pies in and they had a Vietnamese coffee pie. It sounded delicious and got my noggin working.

I tried making it like a Key lime pie with coffee instead of Key lime juice but it was a TOTAL disaster. So I went back to the drawing board and came up with this masterpiece. It truly is divine!

Coffee Pudding Pie

This Cold Brew Coffee Pudding Pie starts with cold brew! Any kind will do, and nowadays they sell them everywhere! Just make sure it’s black and unsweetened, as we want a pure coffee flavor and we’re adding in our own sugar.

We’ll cook the pudding on the stove with some sugar, flour (to thicken it), egg yolks (also as a thickener but to add creaminess as well), and vanilla extract for flavor. After it’s cooled and thickened, we’ll fold in some whipped cream. You can use fresh whipped cream or thawed Cool Whip which will be slightly more stable, but it’s up to you.

Garnish it with more whipped cream, a sprinkling of crushed chocolate cookie crumbs and voila! A coffee lover’s DREAM pie.

I mean… can you even handle this!?

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Cold Brew Coffee Pudding Pie

This Cold Brew Coffee Pudding Pie is for serious coffee lovers only! With a rich coffee flavor in a chocolate cookie crust, it's creamy, cool, silky smooth and SO delicious and simple to make!

Course No Bake Desserts, Pie

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 7 hours hours

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 7 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 10 servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups cold brew coffee, unsweetened and black any brand works, I used "Stok" brand
• 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream OR 1¼ cups Cool Whip, thawed
• One 9" prepared Oreo cookie pie crust

For Topping:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2-3 Oreo cookies, filling scraped, finely crushed optional, for garnish

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and flour until fully combined and no lumps remain. Add in the cold brew coffee and turn on the heat to medium-high. Whisk thoroughly, taking care to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot and break up any lumps. Whisk occasionally until mixture begins to bubble and thicken. Allow to bubble for about 2 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and working quickly and carefully, pour a small amount of the bubbling coffee mixture into the bowl of lightly beaten egg yolks, whisking the yolk mixture constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling. This is called tempering the eggs. Once the eggs have been incorporated with the coffee mixture, pour the egg mixture back into the coffee mixture and continue cooking in the saucepan until the mixture comes to a boil. Allow to boil for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Mixture will have thickened.
• Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Strain the mixture into a bowl if there are any lumps. Cool the pudding to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Once pudding has cooled, whip the heavy whipping cream in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. Fold the whipped cream (or use thawed Cool Whip here instead) gently into the pudding mixture until no streaks remain and the mixture is fully incorporated. Spread the filling into the prepared pan, then refrigerate for 6 hours, preferably overnight.
• Just before serving, make fresh whipped cream to go on top: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the heavy whipping cream and confectioners' sugar together with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. Or, use any remaining Cool Whip you have. Spread onto the pie. Garnish with Oreo cookie crumbs, if using. Serve and store leftovers in the fridge.

Notes

A note about Cool Whip versus fresh whipped cream: I used fresh whipped cream in my pie and I found it to have a looser consistency. It still cut perfectly fine and plated in a pie wedge shape, but it definitely was less stable than if you were to make it with Cool Whip, which is a stabilized whipped topping. Just a heads up! 

Because of this, I would say a pie made with fresh whipped cream will last up to 2 days in the fridge, whereas a Cool Whip version would last probably 3 or maybe 4. 

This pie was tested using STOK brand cold brew coffee. Any brand will work; just make sure it's unsweetened and black. 

If you love coffee, you are going to LOVE this creamy, rich pie!

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

More Coffee This Way…

Frozen Cold Brew Coffee Pie – this one’s great in the summer!

The post Cold Brew Coffee Pudding Pie first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend! I did, but I am beyond ready for Christmastime now!

Christmas is more my jam anyway. I kinda just put up with Thanksgiving because my family likes it, but truly, I am all about Christmas. I consider myself an expert gift-giver – knowing exactly what people want or getting them something they didn’t realize they needed until the moment they open their gift. That gets me high!

So I guess you could make the case that I am getting you this Christmas-y pie because I know it’s exactly what you need to kick start the “official” start to the Christmas holiday season. You’re welcome!

Chess Pie

If you’ve never had chess pie, it’s basically just a pie with a pudding/custard-esque filling inside. The real magic is when you make a chocolate version and you mix it well enough that you get a crackly meringue-like topping, similar to the addictive crackly topping you get on a fudge brownie. It’s HEAVEN. This recipe gives you that topping, which is arguably the best part.

The filling consists of melted butter, melted chocolate bar, eggs, sugars, milk, flour, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract for flavor. Of course, if you want a traditional chocolate chess pie, you can omit the peppermint extract, but it’s a fun twist for the holidays.

The pie filling is kind of like a fudge brownie and a molten lava cake had a baby. It’s slightly gooey and underbaked with that crackly meringue-like topping. It’s SO irresistible. They’re traditionally baked in a pastry pie crust, but you could always take the easy route and do it in a graham cracker crust as well.

Non-negotiables for this pie include a MOUNTAIN of fresh, sweetened whipped cream and tons of crushed candy cane pieces to really drive home the chocolate peppermint action. I mean, how can you not fall in love with this beauty!?

Chocolate Peppermint Chess Pie – the unofficial new kick-off to Christmas!

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Chocolate Peppermint Chess Pie

This Chocolate Peppermint Chess Pie is AMAZING. A cross between a fudge brownie and a molten lava cake, it's gooey, slightly underbaked chocolaty filling is amazing, but the crackly meringue-like crust is to-die for! With a fun peppermint twist, this pie is the perfect holiday creation!

Course Pie

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 3 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 4 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• One 9" prepared frozen pie crust (or your favorite homemade pie crust recipe)
• 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 Tbsp milk (2% or whole preferred)
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 2 oz unsweetened or bittersweet chocolate bar, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed

For Topping & Garnish:

• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• Crushed candy cane pieces

Instructions

• Preheat your oven according to your pie crust's directions for blind-baking an empty pie shell. Most are probably 400° degrees F. Place your frozen pie crust on a rimmed baking sheet and let thaw while the oven preheats, then poke holes thoroughly all over the pie crust bottom and sides using the tines of a fork. For extra insurance, you can add a piece of parchment with pie weights, but usually the hole poking works. Blind-bake according to package directions, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 325° degrees F.
• Meanwhile, for the filling: In a medium bowl, combine the sugars, eggs, milk, flour, and extracts and whisk until combined. In a smaller bowl, combine the cubed butter and chopped chocolate and microwave on HIGH power for 30 seconds. Stir, then continue microwaving in 20 second bursts until smooth and both the butter and chocolate are melted and incorporated.
• Whisk the chocolate butter mixture into the sugar mixture and continue whisking for about 20-30 seconds to temper the egg so they don't seize from the warmed chocolate. Pour the filling mixture into the prepared pie crust. I recommend at this point using a pie crust shield or foil strips to tent the edges of the foil to prevent them from browning too quickly.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the pie appears set and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean - a little chocolate residue is okay, but it should not be super wet. Remove the pie shield or foil strips. Cool on a wire rack completely, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours to set and firm up before serving.
• Just before serving, make your whipped cream: In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip together the heavy whipping cream and confectioners' sugar with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes. Garnish the pie slices with fresh whipped cream and crushed candy cane pieces.

Notes

Whisking the filling mixture for the full 20-30 seconds creates that crackly meringue-like crust, so don't skimp on the whisking! 

You’re going to LOVE this fantastic chocolaty, pepperminty delight of a pie!

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Chocolate Peppermint Chess Pie first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

This Baklava Pie is a fun twist on the classic Greek baklava dessert but in PIE form! Made with spiced walnuts and drizzled with an addictive honey lemon syrup, this pie is perfect for those wanting something different this holiday season!

Boy, do I have a unique pie for you today! If you’re tired of the usual pecan and tired old pumpkin, you may want to think about this Baklava Pie. You get the same nuttiness from pecan but with that baklava taste (without all the hard work!).

Baklava is one of those lovely desserts that definitely makes an impression but is VERY labor-intensive. Phyllo dough sheets are tissue paper thin and need to be kept moist and covered, so you work with each sheet one at a time and painstakingly brush each sheet with butter, layering the delicate sheets one by one with the nut filling. While it’s not hard, it’s not exactly a quick project, so I wanted to combine that same syrupy, nutty, gooey goodness of baklava into something that was easy, and pie was the best answer for that!

The Pie Filling

The pie filling consists of finely chopped walnuts which are a traditional nut used in baklava. Some baklava I’ve had uses all walnuts, and others use a mixture of walnuts and pistachios. You can use a mixture of walnuts and pistachios here if you’d like as well, but for the ease factor, I just did all walnuts. We’ll mix them with some brown sugar for sweetness and ground cinnamon for flavor and spice. See? Told you it was easy.

The Crust

The crust is your regular ol’ refrigerated pie crust from the grocery store. You can absolutely go Suzi Homemaker and make your own favorite homemade pie crust recipe, but for the easy factor I went with store bought. You’ll place one of the pie crusts in the bottom of a pie pan and pour some melted butter on the bottom of it, then add in the filling. Top with the second pie crust and cut some slits in it to help vent the pie. Then we’ll bake it!

The Syrup

All baklava has a honey lemon syrup poured over it that soaks into the filling and layers and gives it that addictive, sticky, gooey deliciousness and this pie is no exception! You’ll make the syrup while the pie bakes in the last few minutes of its bake time. Then pour it over the hot pie and let it seep down into the filling. The hardest part is to let the pie cool, then cut into slices!

Gooey, sticky, nutty, honey-soaked perfection! I can only be referring to this fabulous Baklava Pie!

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Baklava Pie

This Baklava Pie is a fun and unique twist on a classic Greek dessert! Filled to the brim with spiced walnuts and soaked in a honey lemon syrup, it tastes like the gooey, sticky, sweet baklava you love but in an easy-to-make pie!

Course Dessert, Pie

Cuisine American, Dessert, Mediterranean

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• One package refrigerated pie crusts, at room temperature the package has 2 crusts inside - you need both
• 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 3½ cups finely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 325° degrees F. Lightly spray a 9" round pie dish with cooking spray. Unroll the first pie crust and fit it into the prepared pan on the bottom and up the sides. Drizzle half of the melted butter into the bottom of the pie crust and swirl it around to coat the bottom of the crust. Set aside.
• Mix together the walnuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Add the nut mixture to the buttered crust in the prepared pan in an even layer. Drizzle with the remaining melted butter. Top with the remaining pie crust and crimp the edges of the top crust and the bottom crust together to seal. Cut four slits in the top crust with a paring knife to allow steam to vent from the pie filling while baking.
• Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the top is golden brown and set. Five to ten minutes before the pie is set to be finished baking, make your honey lemon syrup: Heat the honey and lemon juice together in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until combined, mixture is hot and watery in consistency. Remove from heat.
• Remove the fully baked pie from the oven and immediately drizzle the hot honey lemon syrup evenly over the pie, allowing it to seep into the pie via the slits and on the edges of the pie crust crimps. Allow the pie to cool completely, then set for at least 2-3 hours before cutting into slices. Because the nuts are loose (not suspended in a glaze like a pecan pie) this pie will be messier to serve but will taste amazing!

Notes

You can absolutely use a combination of nuts in your pie filling if you wish! Just make sure the total amount of nuts equals 3.5 cups. A blend of pistachios and walnuts would be fantastic.

This pie is such a dream, and I know your family is going to love it!

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Baklava Pie first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.

I love this time of year so much! One, because the weather is a nice reprieve from the hellish summers. Two, because I love Christmastime – it’s my fave! And three, because I LOVE coming up with recipes for you to possibly make for your families and friends for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas. It brings me so much joy!

Up for your consideration now is a fun take on a traditional pumpkin pie with the untraditional twist of salted caramel. I mean, because who doesn’t love salted caramel? What doesn’t salted caramel improve? These are questions that keep me up at night.

This pie is seriously fabulous and perfect for those who want to jazz up a plain jane pumpkin pie with a little something special. The additional of buttery, gooey salted caramel really sends it over the edge! You can’t quite detect it so much inside the pie, but when it’s poured on top, it is a whole new level of deliciousness.

The Pie

The pie itself is an outstanding pumpkin pie with a few tweaks from the traditional pie recipe on the back of the Libby’s can that we’re so used to making. Those pies are good, but predictable. This has a few tricks up its proverbial sleeve to make it extra special, including using brown sugar instead of white sugar for more of those caramelly notes, heavy cream instead of evaporated milk for more rich and creaminess, and of course, salted caramel inside of the pie filling to really drive home the flavor. Again, the pie filling itself isn’t overwhelmingly caramel-flavored – the pumpkin definitely overpowers here – but there’s definitely a buttery hint that makes you go mmm, what is that? when you take a bite. Then, of course, the point is definitely driven home with the caramel topping you’ll pour on top of the baked pie.

I love the combination of the buttery, gooey salted caramel with the homey comfort of a classic pumpkin pie in this Salted Caramel Pumpkin Pie. I know it’s going to be a favorite, too!

*slightly adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

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Salted Caramel Pumpkin Pie

This Salted Caramel Pumpkin Pie is such a fun twist on a traditional pumpkin pie! With salted caramel both in the filling and as a topping, there's plenty of deliciousness to go around in this flavorful pie.

Course Dessert, Pie

Cuisine American, Dessert

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 9" frozen deep dish pie crust or you may use your favorite homemade deep dish crust
• 1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1¼ cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce, prepared or homemade, plus more for topping the pie for prepared, I like Smucker's Simply Delights or Trader Joe's Fleur de Sel

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425° degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place the prepared frozen deep dish pie crust on top. This is an insurance policy in case your pie filling bubbles over so the baking sheet catches any spills. It's also much easier to transport to and from the oven!
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, light brown sugar, spices, vanilla extract, salt, heavy whipping cream and 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce together until fully combined and smooth. Pour the mixture into the pie crust until it is filled to the top. If you have some extra filling leftover, discard or save for another use. I recommend at this point using pie crust shields around your pie edges, or you may want to tent your pie crust edges with foil halfway through baking.
• Bake at 425° degrees F for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350° and bake for an additional 40-45 minutes or until the center appears set and is only slightly jiggly. The filling should not be sloshing in the pan. You can always test the center as well using a clean knife tip; it should come out relatively cleanly. Cool the pie completely, then before serving, sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired and pour on the remaining caramel sauce to really bring out the salted caramel flavor.

Notes

I recommend using Smucker's Simply Delights or Trader Joe's Fleur de Sel prepared caramel sauces for this recipe. You need about 1 cup of caramel sauce - 1/2 cup for the pie filling, and about 1/2 cup to serve with the baked and cooled pie. For a true salted caramel flavor, I recommend garnishing the pie with the remaining salted caramel sauce tableside or pour the caramel sauce onto the finished pie before serving. If your caramel sauce is already pre-salted, omit the flaky sea salt topping. If your caramel sauce does not already have salt, flaky sea salt is a nice touch. 

This pie is so delicious! The caramel sauce is just tremendous on it!

Have a super sweet day!

xo, Hayley

The post Salted Caramel Pumpkin Pie first appeared on The Domestic Rebel.