All, Dessert, Recipes

Apple Pie Crumb Bars

By Casa de Suna

Published Sep 15

These sweet and sticky bars are fully loaded with all the goodness of apple pie in an easy to slice and serve dessert.

Granny Smith apples are used here for their tart notes combined with a firm texture, but any crisp apples will do. Honeycrisp or Northern Spy are also great options to use.

How to Make It

Difficulty: Easy

Overall Time: 4 hrs 5 min

Prep Time: 35 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 30 min + 2 hrs cooling time

Serves: 12

Ingredients

Shortbread Base

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed

Apple Filling

3 large crisp apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled and diced between ¼ to ½-inch thick
½ cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp cinnamon
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Pecan Crumb

¾ cup chopped pecan halves
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed

Instructions

Arrange rack in bottom third of oven. Preheat to 350°F. Generously butter a 9-inch square metal pan. Line with parchment, overhanging edges on two opposite sides. Set aside.
For the base, combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add butter, working in with your fingertips until fully combined. Continue working mixture, lightly kneading just until a dough comes together. Crumble over bottom of prepared pan to distribute evenly, then press into an even layer. Bake in the bottom third of oven until evenly golden and baked all the way through, approximately 35 to 40 minutes.
While the base bakes, for the filling, combine apples with brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, and spices in a medium bowl. Set aside.
For the crumb, combine pecans with flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add butter, working in with your fingertips until fully combined.
Gently spoon filling over baked base to distribute evenly, lightly spreading with a spatula to evenly cover. Finely sprinkle crumb-mixture over filling to distribute evenly, ensuring apples are evenly covered.
Bake in the bottom third of oven until apples are cooked through and crumb bars are golden brown, about 55 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely, at least 2 hours.
Run a butter knife along the unlined edges of the pan to loosen. Using parchment edges, lift bars out of pan. With a sharp knife, cut lengthwise into four rows, then crosswise into three rows to make 12 squares. Serve immediately.