Apple Bars

A perfect fall dessert, these Apple Bars have sweet caramelized apples layered on top of a cookie crust and then sprinkled with a buttery crumb topping.

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I sure do love pie, but I think I equally love pie bars! After you’ve made these Apple Crumb Bars, make sure you also try these Peaches and Cream Bars, Blackberry Pie Bars, or for another fall favorite, Pumpkin Pie Bars. And these Lemon Bars are just as good as any lemon pie!

As much as I love pumpkin season, right now I am taking advantage of the fresh crops of fall apples – one of my other favorite fall flavors! These Apple Bars are the perfect treat to share with friends or family. Sweet and full of apple flavor, you won’t be able to keep your hands out of them. I know this, because I had to give them away because I couldn’t stay away from them!!

There is one thing that I can’t resist – a good crumb topping. And pairing a crumb topping with apples is like a match made in heaven for me. In fact, my favorite Sour Cream Apple Pie has a crumb topping.

But what can you do when you don’t want to go to the trouble of making a pie? How about cookie bars that have all the same flavors?? These Apple Bars have so many of the same flavors of apple pie, all rolled up into a cookie bar. This is the perfect fall dessert.

How to Make Apple Bars

There are 3 components that you’ll make, and then combine them all at the end.

1. The Filling: This is made up of caramelized apples. You’ll cook the apples in butter, then add sugar, lemon juice, flour and cinnamon and cook them all together until you have a slightly thickened mixture.
2. The Crust: This is the bottom crust, that really resembles a cookie more than a pie crust. Combine your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt). Cream together your butter and sugar, then add an egg. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then press the mixture into a 9×13-inch baking pan.
3. The Crumb Topping: Mix together sugar, flour and salt, and then cut in your butter to make a crumbly topping. Then you can add in walnuts to your topping (I love them in these bars).

Then it’s just assembly and baking to finish off the bars!

Tips and Tricks

This does make a lot, but it’s hard to cut it in half because you only need one egg. If you want to go to the trouble of halving one egg, feel free to cut the recipe in half. (But I always love extra so that I can give some away!)

I like to use Granny Smith apples. You can use any apple that is good for baking – Braeburn, Fuji and Gala are some of my other favorites for baking.

Each component can be made ahead of time, but I wouldn’t assemble it all together until you are ready to bake the Apple Bars, just to make sure the crumb topping doesn’t get soggy.

If you don’t like nuts, or if there is a nut allergy, feel free to leave the walnuts out of the crumb topping.

I store any leftover bars in the refrigerator. I think they taste so good when they are cold, so I actually prefer to eat them that way.

More Apple Recipes

Apple Bundt Cake with Caramel Frosting
Pumpkin Apple Bread
Caramel Apple Crisp
Apple Cinnamon Cake with Cinnamon Whipped Cream
15 Apple Recipes You’ll Want to Make Every Fall

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Apple Bars with Crumb Topping

5 from 3 votes

Author: Deborah Harroun

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 46 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 6 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 servings

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

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A perfect fall dessert, these Apple Bars have sweet caramelized apples layered on top of a cookie crust and then sprinkled with a buttery crumb topping.

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Ingredients

Filling:

• ▢ 3 large tart apples (I used Granny Smith)
• ▢ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ 1/2 cup sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Crust:

• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• ▢ 1 egg

Streusel:

• ▢ 1/2 cup sugar
• ▢ 2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 6 tablespoons unsalted butter cold, diced
• ▢ 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Make the filling:

• Peel and core the apples and cut into a 1/2-inch dice.
• Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the apples and cook until they are soft, about 8 minutes.
• Add the sugar, lemon juice, flour and cinnamon to the apples and stir to combine.
• Cook until the mixture starts to bubble, then turn the heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes.
• Remove to a bowl to cool while you prepare the crust.

Make the crust:

• Line a 13×9-inch baking dish with foil or parchment paper and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
• In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together unit light and fluffy. Mix in the egg, then add in the flour mixture and mix just until combined.
• Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan and up the sides 1/4-inch. Set the pan aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Make the crumb topping:

• In a stand mixer, mix together the sugar, flour and salt. Add the butter and continue to mix until the mixture is crumbly and pieces of butter are very small. You can also do this by hand with a pastry cutter.
• Add the walnuts and stir to combine.

Make the apple bars:

• Spread the apple mixture evenly over the crust, leaving a 3/4-inch border around the sides.
• Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the filling.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown, about 35 minutes.
• Cool completely, then remove from the pan and cut into bars.

Recipe Notes:

source: Field Guide to Cookies

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should only be used as a general guideline.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1bar, Calories: 192kcal (10%), Carbohydrates: 28g (9%), Protein: 2g (4%), Fat: 8g (12%), Saturated Fat: 5g (31%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 27mg (9%), Sodium: 84mg (4%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 10g (11%)

Keywords: apple bar recipe, apple bars