Move over apple pie, these easy-to-make Apple Crisp Bars have a buttery shortbread cookie base, apple pie filling and a cinnamon streusel top! Share this easy apple bars recipe with vanilla bean ice cream and/or caramel sauce. | This recipe is brought to you by Bob’s Red Mill. [ see recipe VIDEO on recipe card below ]
Apple Bars Easier Than Apple Pie
Crave apple pie but not into making pastry? This is your dessert! It’s somewhat like a crisp but more like apple crisp cookie bars or French apple pie bars! Whatever you call em’ you’re going to love how simple this recipe is to make.
These scrumptious bars taste like apple pie but without the fuss of rolling out the dough and crimping. For this recipe, we’re making an easy shortbread crust with melted butter and pressing it into a pan (hooray!).
If you enjoy making homemade desserts, you’ll enjoy this tasty apple crisp bars recipe.
Using a mix of at least three different types of apples yields flavor interest, texture variety and a lovely fragrance. Choose your favorites and go with it!
At a Glance: How to Make Cinnamon Apple Bars
Gather your ingredients, mise en place, for efficient baking!
- First, make the crust and streusel.
- Second, press the dough into the bottom of the pan.
- Third, bake the crust.
- Fourth, while the crust is baking make the apple filling.
- Fifth, cook the apple slices with a few tablespoons of maple syrup, and aromatics.
- Next, remove the crust from the oven and transfer the apple filling to the shortbread crust.
- Last, sprinkle the streusel over the apples and bake again.
Once cool, slice and share shortbread apple crumble bars with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and/or for caramel apple goodness, drizzle the bars with caramel sauce – SO GOOOOD!!
No Mushy Apples
A tip I learned from Cooks Illustrated and one that I applied here is to cook sliced apples for about 10 minutes prior to baking. Doing this helps set the pectin, bringing it to a heat stable form which prevents mushy apples (or further apple shrinkage). This gives us a good apple texture between the shortbread crust and crumbly, crisp topping.
And, it works beautifully in this apple crisp recipe and my gluten free vegan Apple Pie recipe among others. No mushy apples!
Ingredients Make All the Difference
Choosing high-quality ingredients is important for flavor and texture. It’s a reflection of the love that goes into each recipe I create for my family, friends and the Vanilla And Bean community. I use Bob’s Red Mill Organic Unbleached All Purpose Flour in this and many of my baked goods recipes. It’s a high-quality flour that produces consistent results every time.
Traci’s Tips
- Make Ahead Ready: Get a jump on your holiday planning with this apple bar dessert! It freezes beautifully.
- For Serving: Share rewarmed with your favorite vanilla bean ice cream and/or caramel sauce.
For more recipes using Bob’s Red Mill Organic All Purpose Flour, head to their website.
Cinnamon Apple Crisp Bars Recipe
Ingredients
For the Crust and Topping:
- 14 tablespoons (195 grams) Unsalted Butter or 1 3/4 sticks.
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons (305 grams) All Purpose Unbleached Flour I use Bob's Red Mill
- 1/4 cup (55 grams) Organic Cane Sugar
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (65 grams) Light Brown Sugar divided
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon divided
- 1/2 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup (50 grams) Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
For the Apple Filling:
- 2 pounds (950 grams) Apples peeled, cored and sliced very thin, about 1/8 inch to yield about 6 cups (585 grams / 1 pound 3 ounces)** see note
- 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 2 tablespoons Apple Juice, Apple Cider or Water *see note
- Zest and Juice of One Lemon
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 3/4 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1/4 tespoon Fine Sea Salt
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
Instructions
- Lightly oil the bottom and sides of an 8 inch by 8 inch baking pan with pan spray or vegetable oil. Line the pan with parchment paper leaving "handles" to lift the apple bars out of the pan. Set aside.
Make the Crust and Topping:
- In a small sauce pot, add the butter and heat on low. Once melted, set aside and allow it to cool.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cane sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and salt.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the melted butter. Add the vanilla extract to the bowl. Use a wood spoon to pull the flour mixture into the center of the well, stirring and incorporating the flour into the butter. Stop mixing when no dry bits remain and the mixture is crumbly. This is your shortbread crust dough.
- Make the Streusel Topping: Transfer 3/4 cups (150 grams) of the crumbly shortbread dough to a small bowl. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and all the oats. Mix together using your hands. The topping should be crumbly. Set aside.
- Press in the Shortbread Crust: Knead the remaining shortbread dough a few times to bring the crumbles together, then transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Press the dough into the pan in an even layer. Use the bottom of a dry measuring cup or Mason jar to smooth and even the layer if needed. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Arrange a baking rack to the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit (180 Celcius).
- Bake the shortbread crust for 25-30 minutes or until darker golden around the edges and golden in the center. Set aside.
Cook the Apples:
- Meanwhile, place the thinly sliced apples in a Dutch oven or large stock pot. Add the maple syrup, 1 tablespoon of juice (cider or water), zest and juice of one lemon, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- Turn the heat to medium and gently stir the apples. Once you hear the ingredients bubbling, turn the heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes stirring occassionally. The apples will begin to cook down, become soft and release their juices. Once done, the apples should be just fork tender. Remove from heat and make a slurry of 1 tablespoon of juice or water with the cornstarch. Pour it into the apple mixture, return the pot to medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring to coat the apples, for about 30 seconds or until the mixture thickens and the apples are glossy. Remove from heat and set aside.
Assemble and Bake the Apple Bars:
- Transfer the apples to the baked crust, gently spreading and pressing into one even layer – be sure to get the corners. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples in an even layer. Bake at 350 Fahrenheit (180 Celcius) for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden and apples fragrant.
- Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely in the pan (about one and a half to two hours).
- Lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment as handles. Use a serrated knife, cut the bars in one assertive downward motion, into 16 pieces.
To Store / Reheat:
- Store bars at room temperature for up to two days, or up to two weeks in the freezer. Thaw for about an hour before reheating. Reheat in a 350 Fahrenheit oven for about 10-15 minutes or until warmed through.
I LOVE apple crisp on its own, but these are on a whole other level of delicious. They took a bit longer than I expected to make, but it was 100% worth it. I used Pink Lady apples because they were the apples I had on hand, but I think they’d be better with a less tarte variety. I will be making these again :)
Love hearing this Madi! Thank you for your note, five star review and tip about Pink Lady apples!
We Loved this Cinnamon Apple bar, we used Honey Crisp apples. I’ve never made an apple anything other than sliced apples and cheese. WOW, I am so happy, thrilled my daughter and I made this it was excellent and just so much more than I expected.
Hii Rachelle! Thank you for giving the recipe a go and coming back to leave a note! I’m super happy to hear you and your daughter made this together and it was such a delight : )
Made these and they were absolutely amazing. I thought I made a good apple crisp, but the difference in this recipe is the shortbread crust. Fantastic. Also – I don’t bother to peel the apples. I tried it with berries for the heck of it, but they were too watery – the apples give it a good texture. Will try next with pears and cranberries.
Hii Anne! Isn’t it a nice change? A bit more effort, but that shortbread is sooo nice! Thank you for your note, tips on variations with no apple peel (so much easier too) and giving the recipe a go. So happy to hear!
wow, really creative, this really does move apple pie out of the way! So many wonderful flavors, love the shortbread crust too, thank you
Hi Sabrina! Thank you for your note. SO happy to hear you’re enjoying the bars!
Hello, this is not about a current/past recipe. This is a little FYI about me and, why I truly appreciate your site. I am not vegan but, seriously allergic to all things dairy!
While you post recipes that contain dairy, you share ways to make the recipe vegan.
As I am always on the hunt for new recipes and/or how to exchange ingredients I find your site a True Blessing! As friends and I often share/discuss recipes I Always tell them about your site! Sooo…THANK YOU TRACI!!!
Happy&Healthy Holldaze!raf
Hi BertaAnne! Thank you for your note, kind words and sharing the blog with friends! Your note truly made my day. SO happy to hear you’re enjoying the blog and finding it helpful!