Apple Crumb Bars are an easy version of apple pie. Cinnamon spiced apples are sandwiched between two buttery, oat-filled crumb layers and baked to a golden brown. Serve this delicious dessert with a big scoop vanilla ice cream!
apple bars
The intoxicating aroma of warm cinnamony apples wafted toward me as I opened the front door.
“Did you make apple slices Mom?”
“I did. But they need to cool a bit before cutting into them.”
Apple slices (a GIANT apple pie made in a sheet pan) was my Mom’s specialty. She made the BEST baked goods. While growing up in the 1970s, my first stop was our kitchen to see what she baked that day.
Following in my Mom’s baking footsteps, I tinkered with her apple slices recipe to make a new apple dessert.
I’m not a fan of rolling out pie crusts. An easy to make oat crumb mixture replaces the top and bottom crusts. Sauteed cinnamon and nutmeg spiced apple slices are sandwiched between the buttery, oat crumb layers and baked to delicious golden brown. Eating an apple crumb bar, transports me back to the cinnamony apple aromas of my Mom baking apple slices during my childhood.
the ingredients
- salted butter
- apples – Jonathon, Braeburn, Granny Smith, and Golden Delicious are some favorites
- cornstarch
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- kosher salt
- all purpose flour
- light brown sugar
- granulated sugar
- rolled oats – not the quick cooking ones
- vanilla ice cream
what are the best apples for baking?
There are over 7,500 different types of apples available the world. So just what kind of apple is best for my apple bar recipe?
- Granny Smith,
- Honeycrisp
- Golden Delicious
- Jonathon, Braeburn
- Northern Spy
These apples hold their shape when baked. Also, they are a nice mix of sweet and tart flavors for delicious baked apple treats.
how to make apple crumb bars
1. Make the apple filling.
- Melt salted butter in a large sauté pan. Add the peeled and sliced apples. Stir to coat the apples with the melted butter.
- In a small box mix the cornstarch with a little cold water. This slurry will help thicken any of the apple juices so the bars will not be runny.
- Add the cornstarch slurry to the apples along with cinnamon, nutmeg and kosher salt. Stir and continue cooking for a few minutes so the apples just begin to soften.
2. Make the crust and topping. It’s so easy as they are both the same mixture.
- Whisk together all purpose flour, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, rolled oats, cinnamon, and kosher salt.
- Next grate the butter and add it to the flour mixture. This is the easiest method of incorporating it into the dry ingredients. Use either a fork or my preferred way of your fingers to make a crumbly mixture.
- Press half of the oat crumb into the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish and set it aside.
3. Assemble and bake the apple crumb bars.
- Spread the apples over the bottom layer of the oat crumb mixture.
- Sprinkle the remaining oat crumb mixture over the apples and press down.
- Bake until golden brown.
baking tips for making apple crumb bars
- Choose a couple different baking apples for the apple bars. I like to use some sweet and some tart for the best apple flavor. My go tos are Braeburn and Granny Smith.
- Freeze the 2 sticks of butter used in the oat crumb mixture. Frozen butter is super easy to grate.
- For neat, square apple bars, allow the pan of bars to cool before cutting them. If you just can’t wait to eat these apple filled bars, they will taste just as good scooped from the pan with a big spoon.
how to store apple desserts
Before storing the apple bars, make sure they are completely cooled. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days. The bars can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
If you make any of these cinnamony apple crumb bars, I’d love hearing from you. Be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ~ I do my best to reply to all your comments. And snap a photo to post to Instagram. I’ll add the photos to my Insta stories as I love seeing all your creations.
Also check out my Facebook and Pinterest pages for lots of fabulous foodie stories and videos, cooking tips, and recipes.
more dessert recipes to try
- Soft Pumpkin Spice Cookies with Buttercream Frosting
- Fresh Strawberry Crumb Cake
- Easy Blueberry Cobbler
- Snickerdoodle Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
- French Silk Pie
- Great Aunt Rose’s Sour Cream Pound Cake
Apple Crumb Bars
- Total Time: 65 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
Description
Apple Crumb Bars are an easy version of apple pie. Cinnamon spiced apples are sandwiched between two buttery, oat-filled crumb layers and baked to a golden brown. Serve this delicious dessert with a big scoop vanilla ice cream!
Ingredients
- For the filling –
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 8 cups peeled and sliced apples (about 8 medium sized apples)
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- for crumb layers –
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter (chilled or better yet frozen)
- vanilla ice cream – for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and set aside.
- In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the apples. Stir to coat the apples with the melted butter.
- In a small bowl, mix the water with the cornstarch until dissolved and forms a slurry. Stir the cornstarch slurry, 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt into the apples and reduce the heat to medium low. Continue cooking until the apples begin to soften, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove pan from the heat and set aside.
- For the crumb layers, in a large bowl whisk the flour, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, rolled oats, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.
- Grate the frozen salted butter and add it to the bowl with the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender, fork or your fingers to combine the mixture until it is crumbly with pieces about the size of marbles.
- In the prepared baking pan, add one-half of the crumb mixture and press down. Layer the apples on top and sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture and press down lightly.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Increase oven to 425 degrees and continue baking until the top of the bars are golden brown, about another 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Let cool and cut into bars.
- Serve alone or topped with vanilla ice cream.
Notes
- Choose a couple different baking apples for the apple bars. I like to use some sweet and some tart for the best apple flavor. My go tos are Braeburn and Granny Smith.
- Freeze the 2 sticks of butter used in the oat crumb mixture. Frozen butter is super easy to grate.
- For neat, square apple bars, allow the pan of bars to cool before cutting them. If you just can’t wait to eat these apple filled bars, they will taste just as good scooped from the pan with a big spoon.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stove top and oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 322
- Sugar: 29 g
- Sodium: 234 mg
- Fat: 12.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 52 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 3.3 g
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
Keywords: apple bars, apple pie bars, apple crumb bars, dessert, apple dessert
This post originally appeared in October of 2014. Updates in November of 2021 include photographs and detailed recipe directions and tips.
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