I share TWO ways to make apple pie crumble bars here – super easy version and my favorite apple pie bar version, with step by step instructions to make the BEST apple bars ever!
Why these apple pie bars are a holiday favorite
All the flavors of classic apple pie, but easier!. I share TWO versions of classic apple pie bars. A super simple, yet delicious apple pie bars recipe AND my favorite version which includes extra tips and techniques to make this classic dessert absolutely memorable! Seriously, you wouldn’t BELIEVE how much flavor can be packed into these little apple pie crumble bars. A delicious, spiced shortbread cookie layer, a melt in your mouth caramel apple filling, and a nutty pecan crumble on top – it’s a ridiculously delicious combination of buttery, caramel, apple, spices, and pecan, all in a single apple pie square. You can choose to make the easy version or the one with a couple of extra steps based on your baking experience and/or time you have. But I provide ALL the tips and step by step instructions + a workflow for both recipes to ensure the absolute best apple pie crumble bars you’ve ever had in your life! My friends who have recipe tested these apple pie bars have thoroughly enjoyed both versions of the recipe, so you won’t go wrong with either one!
Ingredients you will need
For the crust
Butter – Unsalted softened butter, OR homemade brown butter. Sugar – White or brown. I like to use white sugar here. Salt Spices that complement the apple filling. Cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger are options. Flour
For the crumble topping
Butter – Unsalted butter or brown butter. Sugar – White or brown sugar. I prefer to use whichever sugar I used in the filling for the crumble topping as well. Salt – To enhance the flavor. AP flour Oats – Rolled oats or any kind of unflavored oats. Pecans – Optional, but highly recommended! Spices – Optional
For the filling
Apples – I like to use granny smith and honey crisp. I explain why below. Lemon and lemon zest Sugar – White sugar or brown sugar, depending on the flavor you want. (You can see my article on types of sugar to learn more about the flavor profile that different types of sugar yield.) Salt and vanilla – To enhance the flavor. Spices – Apple pie spice OR a mix of, Cinnamon Nutmeg Cloves Cardamom – optional Ginger – optional Cornstarch Butter – Optional Apple cider (non-alcoholic) or brandy / rum (alcoholic) – Optional
Ingredient notes
What type of apples is best to make these apple pie bars?
Apple pie bars should USUALLY be made with the same type of apples that you use to make apple pie. The best apples are ones that holds their shape while being baked. Such as,
Braeburn Granny smith Honey crisp Golden delicious Pink lady Jazz apples
I like to make my apple pie bars with a combination of granny smith apples, honey crisp or pink lady or even jazz apples. This is so that I have a combo of sweet and tart apples for taste and texture, because granny smith holds its shape better than honey crisp during baking. However, you can make this recipe with just one type of apple too. If you have a surplus of apples, and want to use it up – this recipe is perfect! Since we’ll be cooking SOME of the apples and keeping the rest raw before baking, we already have different textures in the apple crumble bars. But, if you can, using two different types of apple can absolutely enhance the flavor. Granny smith apples add a lovely tartness to balance the caramel flavor, while honey crisp is sweet and bakes into a smooth melt in your mouth consistency. If you choose an apple like Mcintosh, remember that these will soften very easily and won’t hold their shape. The result will be apple pie bars that have more of an apple butter texture. Not bad at all – just different.
Lemon
Crucial ingredient. I don’t add a lot of lemon here, but the acidity helps to keep the apples from browning. The acidity will also brighten and enhance the apple flavor.
Spices
Cinnamon is non-negotiable! But, to add more depth and complexity, I recommend adding cloves and nutmeg! If you have ground ginger and cardamom at home, these will add even more flavor! Especially the ginger – a lovely spicy heat that complements this recipe so well.
Sugar
Use white sugar if you want to take the extra step to caramelize it to make CARAMEL apple pie filling. Or skip the caramelization for a more apple flavor forward pie filling. Use brown sugar for a BUTTERSCOTCH apple filling. Darker the brown sugar, the more molassey and butterscotch-like the flavor!
Apple cider or rum
You can use apple cider or apple juice (NOT apple cider vinegar), if you want to keep this non-alcoholic. Brandy, Calvados (apple brandy), rum, or bourbon can be used for the alcoholic version. This ingredient is cooked down to help intensify the flavor of the apple pie filling. But do not use this for the fast and easy version because the extra liquid will mess up the consistency of the filling as the bars bake.
Pecans
It’s autumn. Pecans and apples are just the perfect pairing, and it just feels right. The strong nutty flavor of pecans go well with the sweet apple filling, and add a lovely crunchy texture to the crumble topping too. You can leave out the pecans if you like, OR substitute them with walnuts or even almonds.
Fast and easy vs my favorite apple pie bars
This recipe is for my favorite apple pie crumble bars that have an extra layer of flavor, for an incredibly delicious, complex result. But, in the notes in the recipe card below, I explain how to make the fast and easy version too. There are plenty of fast and easy apple crumble bar recipes on the internet. However, there are a few small, easy additions and steps you can take to make this dessert infinitely better for an absolutely memorable result! I’ll show you how.
Take the time to let the apples macerate. This helps draw out more of the apple juice that will be concentrated during the cooking process. Add apple cider or brandy to the apples. This makes the apple juice that you draw out even more flavorful. Add more spices like ginger, for lovely warmth and spice flavor. Make the shortbread base with brown butter instead of regular butter. The brown butter isn’t necessary, but adds a lovely nutty flavor to the base. Caramelize the sugar. Making caramel with the sugar adds a deep, complex caramel flavor to the filling. You don’t have to drizzle extra caramel sauce on top with this step! Cook down the apple juices and some apples with the caramel base. This creates a thick, caramel apple flavored concentrate that will build flavor for the whole dessert! Crisp and crunchy crumble topping, made even better with the addition of pecans for more toasty, nutty flavor!
The only things “extra” you need to do are, As you can see, all you need is a little extra time to make the most amazing apple pie bars ever. No extra tools, nothing complicated. Just understanding the process of making these apple crumble bars and how the ingredients work together will give you all the leeway you need to truly elevate the recipe!
How to make my favorite apple pie bars (step by step overview)
There are three components to this recipe.
Shortbread crust Apple pie filling Crumble topping (streusel)
Step 1 – Apple filling
The first step is to start with the apple pie filling, so we have enough time to let the sugar draw out some of the apple juices. You can choose to peel or not peel the apples (image 1). I chose to peel them here, because I want the apple slices to soften and melt in my mouth. But if you want your apple filling to have more structure, keep the peel. Cut the apples in half, and remove the seed core with a melon baller or teaspoon. Then, cut the apple halves into thick slices that are about 3 – 4 mm (1/8 – 3/16 th of an inch) thick (image 2). Add a small portion of the sugar, the spices, salt, lemon zest and the rum (or apple cider) and toss to coat (images 3 – 4). Set it aside for about 1 hour to allow more of the moisture to be drawn out of the apples.
Step 2 – Make the crust dough
While the apple filling is macerating, make the shortbread dough crust. Mix the softened butter, salt, and sugar to form a creamy paste (image 5). If your kitchen is cold (in winter for example), you may need to microwave your butter just for a few seconds to make sure it stays soft. Add the flour and fold it in to form dough clumps (images 6 – 7). Then use lightly-floured hands to gently bring the dough together to make a soft dough (image 8). Flatten and fold the dough over itself a few times to get a smooth dough without overworking the gluten. Make sure to mix by folding and rubbing the butter and flour together. Do not knead, as this will make too much gluten and make the crust elasitc and hard to shape, and very rubbery when baked.
Step 3 – Prepare the baking pan
I use a 9 inch square baking pan. If you have a 9 x 13 cake pan, then I have instructions on how to adapt the recipe to fit a 9 x 13 in the recipe card below as well. Gently press in the shortbread dough into the bottom of a 9 inch square baking pan. Make sure the shortbread base is as even as possible throughout, so that it bakes evenly (images 9 – 11). Prick the whole surface with a fork (image 12). Refrigerate to chill the base and preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C (conventional baking).
Step 4 – Bake the crust
Bake the chilled crust for about 15 minutes. This shouldn’t fully bake the crust, but will set the crust from the top to prevent a soggy shortbread crust when you bake the apple pie bars. Let the crust cool down. The crust will still be very blonde, and the surface will look dry.
Step 5 – Make the streusel topping for the crumble
While the crust is chilling, baking and cooling down, you can prepare the streusel topping! Mix the sugar, flour, salt, spices, and oats together (image 13). Cut the cold butter into cubes and add it to the dry ingredients (image 14). Use your fingers or pastry cutter to rub the flour and butter together to form a coarse crumbly mix (images 15 – 16). The mixture should just stick together when you squeeze it in your hand, but still be crumbly. Chop the pecans and set aside.
Step 6 – Add and concentrate the flavor for the apple base
Take the large bowl where the apple slices are macerating. Without mixing the apples, remove the top ⅔ of the apple slices into a different bowl (image 17). I like to weigh this out to be more precise. You should have two bowls with apples now – the first one has ⅓ of the apple slices and the liquid from the maceration (image 17), and the second one has ⅔ of the apple slices without any liquid. This streusel topping can be made without oats and pecans for an easier option. Oats and pecans add more texture and flavor to the streusel topping. Spices can also add more flavor to the topping. Another favorite addition would be lemon zest! Add the cornstarch to the second bowl and toss so that the cornstarch is mixed with the apple slices (images 18 – 19). Place the sugar in a large, dry pot (image 20). Heat over medium heat and stir to melt and caramelize the sugar (images 21 – 22). When the sugar starts to turn dark amber in color, immediately add the butter (image 22) and the apple juice liquid and apple slices in the first bowl (image 23). Stir to melt the butter and caramel together. Bring it to a simmer and cook with the lid on for about 5 minutes to soften the apple slices. Remove the lid and continue to cook the mixture while breaking up the apple slices and thickening the caramel liquid – about 5 to 10 minutes more (image 24).
Step 7 – Mix with the rest of the apple slices
Once this caramel apple base is thickened and cooked, let it cool down just a little. If you prefer butterscotch apple more than caramel, skip the step of caramelizing the sugar, and just cook the apples and juices with brown sugar until it becomes thick. Add the remaining apple slices with the cornstarch, and gently mix it in so that the apple slices are coated with the caramel (images 25 – 26).
Step 8 – Assemble and bake
Scrape the apple pie filling onto the partially baked crust (image 27). Adjust the slices and press down the filling so that there are no gaps in it. Sprinkle the streusel topping on top, followed by chopped pecans (image 28). Bake the apple pie bars in the preheated oven. I prefer to bake these slightly closer to the bottom element, so that the crust can caramelize well as the bars bake. The apple pie crumble bars are done when the streusel on top is golden brown and the pecans are toasted.
Step 9 – Cool down and serve
Remove the pan from the oven, and let it cool down to room temperature. While the apple pie bars can be served warm, or even at room temperature, it’ll be easier to slice if you let it rest for a few hours, or let it set a little in the fridge. Cut into bars with a sharp knife and serve.
Recipe workflow
My best tips for success
I’ve included many tips on how to get the most flavor from these caramel apple pie bars. The information I provided is to ensure that you understand why and how the cooking techniques add flavor to each component of the apple pie crumble bars. Other tips include,
Plan ahead. This is an easy recipe to make! But, I provide a workflow above, so you can make these bars with maximum efficiency. Have the ingredients for each component measured out prior to starting. This makes the baking process go smoothly and easier.
Recipe variations
This recipe is for caramel apple pie bars! There is a slight saltiness to the caramel component, but not much.
Salted caramel apple pie bars – add a little extra salt to the caramel base, to give the apples a salted caramel flavor. Butterscotch apple crumble bars – Use brown sugar instead of white sugar. Apple pie bars with pie crust – You can absolutely use the same filling for apple pie bars with pie crust as well! You can use the homemade pie crust in my mixed berry pie recipe (for a 9 x 13 pan), and replace the filling with the caramel apple filling.
Serving ideas
These apple pie crumble bars are perfect as they are! Especially, because they have so much more flavor than regular apple pie squares. But they can also be served with,
A scoop of vanilla ice cream Whipped chantilly cream Creme fraiche Drizzle of salted caramel sauce Warm vanilla pouring custard (creme anglaise)
Storage and freezing tips
These apple pie bars can be stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours in an airtight container. However, if you want to store these for longer, they can be stored in the fridge or freezer.
Fridge
Place the bars in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. The crust will become soft as time passes, so these are best eaten within the first 1 – 3 days.
Freezer
The bars can also be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month. To prevent the slices from sticking together, make sure the bars are cut and placed with wax paper or parchment paper in between so that it’s easier to take out only the portions you need. Let the apple pie bars thaw overnight in the fridge, or for a few hours at room temperature.
Frequently asked questions
