Believe it or not, at one point this humble little recipe for Apple Crumb Bars was the most popular recipe on Cookie Madness! It's since been eclipsed by other non-apple recipes, but I still make these when I'm in an apple pie mood but don't feel like or need a full apple pie. An 8-inch square pan of apple bars does the job.
Apple Crumb Bars are baked in an 8-inch square pan. I'm quite sure you could double the recipe pretty easily, but I've never done that. If you have a food processor, you can make the crust/topping very quickly. Also, the apples don’t have to be peeled, which is a bonus. You'll need about 3 fairly small Granny Smiths.
How to Make Apple Crumb Bars
Here's a quick rundown on how to make these easy apple pie substitutes! Get ready for the house to smell great.
- Mix the sugar, oats, flour, baking soda and salt.
- Add 9 tablespoons of butter, reserving one for the apple mixture, and process (or use a pastry cutter) until crumbly.
- Remove ¾ cup to a 1 cup of crumbly mixture to be used as a topping.
- Press remaining crumb mixture over the bottom of pan.
- Toss apples with a little lemon juice and cinnamon and spread over the crust.
- Cook the sugar, cornstarch and water together over the stove until thick, then stir in the vanilla, more lemon juice and remaining tablespoon of butter.
- Spread sauce mixture over apples and sprinkle with crumbs.
- Bake until top is golden brown.
If you cool them and chill them as directed, they slice easily and hold together very well.
Recipe
Apple Crumb Bars -- Small Pan
Ingredients
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar (150 grams)
- ¾ cup rolled oats (60 grams)
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (190 grams)
- ⅜ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅜ teaspoon salt – use a little less if using regular salted butter
- 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, divided use (140 grams)
- 2-3 small apples, cored and thinly sliced or chopped cored and thinly sliced or chopped
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice divided use
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a square metal pan with non-stick foil or line with parchment paper.
- In a bowl or food processor, combine brown sugar, oats, flour, baking soda and salt. Cut in or process in 9 tablespoons of butter until mixture is coarse and crumbly. Reserve about ¾ cup (you can reserve 1 cup if you'd like more topping and less crust) for topping. Pat remaining into bottom of pan. It will seem dry, but it’s supposed to be.
- Toss apples with half of the lemon juice and arrange in a fairly layer across crust. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
- In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and water. Turn heat to medium and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to boil and thicken. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, remaining 1 tablespoon butter and remaining teaspoon of lemon juice. Pour over apples.
- Sprinkle reserved crumbs on top, then sprinkle pecans over crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-45 minutes or until top is lightly browned.
- If you’d prefer bars that hold together, let the bars cool completely and then chill before cutting. You can bring them back to room temp after chilling.
terri levin says
I finally made these bars yesterday and they are a "10". My husband just loved them. I substituted 1/2 cup AP flour for 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour.
Anna says
Hi Cyndi,
I'm glad you liked them. I put this recipe on the Top 5 list because it always gets good reviews. I love the run raisin idea!
Cyndi says
Made these twice now. Yummy! If you'd like to send them over the top, you can make Caramel Apple Bars by using 1 cup rum-raisin caramel sauce in place of the cornstarch-thickened simple syrup.
Carol A, says
I made these yesterday and took them to a holiday gathering. They were a very big hit.
These really remind me of apple pie, and are perfect for me because I love apple filling and crumb tops, but I don't love pie crust. An apple crumble or crisp is ideal for me, or eating a crumb top apple pie and leaving the crust. But these squares have the best of both worlds plus a bottom layer that I could love and that makes them pretty easy to handle.
I only have a square glass pan, not a metal one, and as I put the crust layer in I realized it probably is only 8 inches, not 9. It was a pretty thick layer, so I held out more than 3/4 cup for the topping. Then I had used 2 medium Granny Smiths, so I had a super thick layer of chopped apples, too! I was a little concerned but they came out just fine. I think next time I will double the recipe and use my 9x13 metal pan.
Oh, and I left off the pecans, too, in case anyone was allergic to nuts, but I'll try them with nuts next time. I think I might add a little more cinnamon, too (I love cinnamon.)
Thanks again, Anna!
Jessica says
I made these yesterday and they were fantastic...a new family favorite. I even forgot the last 1 TB butter in the sauce, and they were still great. Thanks for this recipe!
Karen says
These are terrific! This was perfect for Rosh Hashana. I usually make an apple cake but this was easier and I think tastier. Thanks.
Sonia says
I made these this afternoon but already there's not much to chill... my family loved it 😀
I wanted to tell you that since I couldn't find rolled oats I used cornflakes instead. Of course the taste and texture must be different from the original one but it wasn't bad at all. Thought this might be useful to someone.
Anna says
Tia, the texture might be a slight bit different (mealier maybe?) but probably not bad.
Tia says
This looks so good!!!! I really want to try it but just a quick question. Do you think it'll make a difference if I use quick-cooking oats instead of rolled oats? Thanks.
Mellisa says
I just took these out of the oven. I could not resist taking a little spoonful out of the cornor of the pan. There was no way I was going to be able to wait until they were cool. These are fabulous. Thanks for sharing the recipe. This will be a new favorite.
Lori says
I've made these a few times and they're awesome! Instead of making one layer, as the recipe suggests, I make 2-3 layers (apples, cinnamon, crumbs), and then pour the bubbling goo over the top of the last crumb layer. Yum!
Anna says
Debbi,there are a few tiny flecks of green here and there, but I didn't notice any taste change.
Debbi says
Do you notice the skins on the apples at all in the bars? These look delicious, I might try these this week.
VeggieGirl says
oooh, these apple-crumb bars look fabulous!! a lovely treat for the autumn season.
Anna says
Hi Kelly,
I am positive the caramel cookies will freeze well and am 95% certain the peanut butter cookies will freeze well too.
Another thing you might consider doing with the caramel machiatto dough is freezing the dough rather than the cookies themselves. That way, you can bake them up fresh.
Kelly says
quick question - do you think either the flourless peanut butter cookie or the caramel machiatto cookie dough would freeze well?