Apple Pie Bars Recipe

This homemade apple pie bars recipe is the EASY version of Apple Pie! The beauty of this dessert is that they fit into your fingers, no fork required and the filling is homemade with your freshly picked apples.

Why This Recipe Works

The weather is crisp and delicious! I love fall when it behaves like FALL. The beautiful fall weekend that we just had is sadly nearly over. It has involved a touch of everything…time with friends, time with family, rest time, work time, home time and getting out.

I also had a complete kitchen FAIL over the weekend that I’ll have to improve upon and try again soon. It is so disappointing when something doesn’t turn out anything like I’d imagined.

THIS recipe, on the other hand, turned out way better than I ever imagined it could. Apple bars are Apple Pie without the hassle. Fall in a pan. Party in your tummy. Baked comfort. The mother of all fall desserts.

If you love traditional pies, but don’t love making a crust and figuring out how to get that lattice topping on, then you will enjoy this refreshingly easy recipe and end up with the same great flavors.

Recipe Ingredients

Butter – Many bakers use unsalted butter in their baked goods in order to avoid over-salting. I, however, almost always use salted butter in my baked goods because it gives everything I make an extra touch of salty deliciousness. If you go the unsalted route, make sure you’re adding salt to the recipe.

Also, let the butter sit at room temperature before adding it to the recipe. This will prevent clumps from forming in the batter when mixed.

Apples – Use medium baking apples such as honeycrisp, gala, golden delicious, jonagold or granny smith. A mix of sweet and tart apples will bring a lot of dimension to the flavor of the pie.

Spice mixture – If you enjoy the spice in the baked apples, additional flavors you could add or exchange are ginger, cardamom or allspice. Or replace entirely with a couple teaspoons of apple pie spice.

How To Make Delicious Apple Pie Bars

Step 1

Preheat oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper (or coat generously with cooking spray) and set aside.

Step 2

Prepare The Pie Crust: In a large bowl, combine the egg, butter and sugar. Mix until creamy. Add flour and salt and stir until combined.

Using your fingers (flour them, if needed), press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. You can inch up the sides of the pan a bit if you like a hearty crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Step 3

Prepare The Filling: In a medium bowl, combine apple slices, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir until combined.

Pour apple mixture over the bottom crust in an even layer.

Step 4

Prepare The Topping: In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and butter. Stir until coarse crumbs form.

Spread the streusel topping evenly over top of the apples. Bake for an additional 30 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let cool completely and cut into squares.

Recipe Notes

• Enjoy warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
• Drizzle a little salted caramel sauce that you can make at home!
• Substitute brown sugar for white sugar, yum!
• Make the recipe easier by replacing the filling with this apple pie filling made in your Instant Pot.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Keep Apples From Browning

When chopping and peeling the apples, fill a large bowl about half with cool water and squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon into it. The lemon juice will keep the apples from getting brown while you get them prepped for the recipe.

Use an apple corer/peeler if you have one because they will make this process go super fast. If you don’t have one, use a potato peeler and a knife to get the job done. Peel, core and chop the apples into thin slices. Place them into the water-lemon juice mixture as you work.

Best Apples To Use For Baking

I recommend using a variety of apples and at the very least, use two kinds: one sweet and one tart. My favorite combo is Granny Smith and Honeycrisp.

Sweet Apples

• Fuji
• Honeycrisp
• Red Delicious
• Pink lady
• Golden Delicious apples
• Cortland
• Gala

Tart (or a little Sour) Apples

• Granny Smith
• McIntosh
• Ida Red
• Braeburn
• Empire
• Jonathan 

FAQ About Apples

Fall Apple Recipes

• Easy Homemade Crockpot Applesauce is fun to prepare because it’s so easy to make. Use an assortment of green and red apples and you’ll have a flavorful snack you can enjoy; better than the store stuff!
• Apple Pie Jam tastes just like Apple Pie because it’s similar to pie filling. So get ready to be addicted. Put it on your English muffins, pancakes or with peanut butter! This is a DELICIOUS way to use up extra apples in the fall! Also a great gift idea!
• Homemade Apple Cider is great when made in your slow cooker! It’ll warm you from the inside out with amazing flavors and it’s so delicious. It’s a must have fall drink and tastes so much better when you make it yourself.
• Apple Coffee Cake is the best coffee cake recipe you’ll find. Enjoy as an indulgent breakfast treat or an any-time snack or dessert!
• Salted Chocolate Caramel Apples – sprinkling of sea salt and a bit of chocolate turns Caramel Apples into an extravagant dessert.. Salted Chocolate Caramel Apples! 

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