These Apple Crumble Bars are dessert squares that resemble apple pie, with a crumble bottom and top, and shredded cinnamon apples in between. Perfect for Fall baking!
It’s no secret how much I love summer. I was actually pretty defiant last year when it ended. But this year I’m much more accepting. Not happy about it. But definitely more accepting.
I do like the Fall. I just don’t enjoy what follows it. However, this year we will not have snow and bone-cold temperatures to contend with. So, in that case, let’s get started. And what better way, than with apples.
Paul and I were married in an apple orchard (this week actually.) It was…perfect. We’re heading up there next month. Not to renew our vows, though. Oh no. We’re getting some fresh apple cider and pie! And apples, of course.
And when we return, I’m making my Slow Cooked Applesauce
…and my latest creation, Apple Crumble Bars.
I basically took my absolute favorite pie crumble topping (that I swear I could sprinkle on cereal, or waffles, or just eat with a spoon) and made a top and bottom layer out of it, with shredded apples in the middle.
These are great for Fall weather, Thanksgiving, or to celebrate apples being in season.
They are also great for making your house smell like a cinnamon apple pie. But without the wax.
Watch the video for Apple Crumble Bars
Apple Crumble Bars
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar , divided
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter , cut into small pieces
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 4 medium apples , cored and grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9 x 13 pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Work in the egg and butter with a pastry blender (or your hands!) until pea-sized clumps form and virtually no loose flour remains. Press half of mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
- In another bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar and cornstarch. Squeeze out any excess liquid from the grated apples with your hands, then mix them into the sugar until thoroughly combined. Sprinkle the apple mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the apples.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the top is slightly golden. Cool completely before cutting into squares and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
inspired by allrecipes
Patricia says
Hi, thanks for the great recipe, can I use canned apples?
Midge says
Can you use applesauce in place of apples
Amy @Belly Full says
No, sorry.
Jen says
I made these today and they were delicious!! I even took some to my husband’s work while still a little warm and he said they got rave reviews! Definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing.
Amy @Very Culinary says
Awesome! Thanks for the comment!
Dina says
they look yummy!
Sandi says
Thanks for re-posting, Amy!!!
Dani H says
Belated Happy Anniversary! And thanks for three recipes in the one post. Yum!
Amy says
Megan – Ha! They yelled at me, too. Should they sit in the naughty chair?
Carol – Wonderful to hear!! Thank you so much for your comment. I love it!
Carol says
I made these yesterday and oh boy do we LOVE them. It’s apple season here so I know I’ll be doing a few more batches of these this fall. Into my “Favorite Recipes File” it went!
Thanks so much!
Carol
Megan says
Everything looks delicious but those apple squares are yelling at me. Make them stop!
Amy says
Mom – I would offer to make this for Thanksgiving, but nothing can replace your outstanding apple pie.
Stephanie – Ha! Stand in line, darlin’ ;-)
Donalyn – Hello lovely! How nice to see you over here. These will absolutely fit the bill for your apple love. Your Clafoutis is on my to-do list.
Donalyn says
Happy Anniversary & these are definitely on my “to-do” list!
Stephanie @ Per l'Amore del Cibo says
Since the insanity diet is restricting you from eating all these goodies, I demand that you ship them to me right away. Please and thanks. :)
Mom says
I’m dying for these just reading all the comments. What can be better than a double dose of the delicious topping! I love apples whether whole, chopped, in dessert or applesauce. I can actually taste these just as I’m reading the blog.
Amy says
Kathryn – Can’t go wrong with apple turnovers. Thanks for the link.
Lo – You silly, silly lady. I can’t actually eat these treats. Oh no. I only get a big enough taste/bite to see how heavenly they are. I am tortured when I’m making them, tortured by the smell wafting through the kitchen, and absolutely tortured by the fact that I need my sister to stop by after work and take the finished product out of my house for her to enjoy! It’s so wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Janet says
Made them today, delicious, thinking a little caramel drizzled over would be fantastic also
lo says
OK, I’m jealous. Not only did you and your Paul (yes, yours… I presume anyhow) get married in an apple orchard… but you get to eat stuff like this while you’re on your crazy diet.
How does that work??!! :)
Amy says
Shayla – SO glad to hear it! Your co-workers would love you, but I completely understand if you decided to keep them all for yourself ;-)
Crystal – No worries! Hope you enjoy them.
Crystal says
Oops missed that! Thanks! Can’t wait to make them!
Shayla says
I saw the recipe yesterday and made them last nite. My family and myself LOVED them. OMG. Easy and delicious. I am still debating if I am bringing them to work, or just eating the rest of the pan…
Amy says
Rachel – Where’s Boa Vista? Will need to look that up… I’m with you on the cinnamon. Optional? No no no no no.
Natasha – Thanks!
HH – I am so jealous of people who have fruit trees right in their back yard. Lucky!
Daphne – These would be great with morning tea or coffee, yes! And for a brunch because you can cut them up into smaller squares to feed many.
daphne says
oh yum! i need some sweetness in my day and that looks amazing! Good idea for a morning tea for my work place too. thanks amy!
heavenly housewife says
Happy Anniversary! What a fantastic apple desert. I have 3 apple trees in my back yard and loads of apples this year, so I am looking for some great ideas. Thanks for sharing this one.
*kisses* HH
5 Star Foodie says
apple crumble squares look so scrumptious! Happy anniversary!
Rachel says
Oh, and I gotta say, thank you for upping the cinnamon! SO many recipes are way under-seasoned. 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon?! I think not!
Rachel says
Boa Vista Orchards has the BEST turnovers known to mankind. THE BEST. And their apple fritters? Holy hell don’t get me started!!!!
Amy says
Jude – :D :D :D Hee hee. How much do I LOVE that you and Chopper flew out to be a part of it? How much?? I guess it doesn’t hurt that we did it in CA. In an apple orchard. And the fact that you enjoy traveling. Made it an easier sell ;-)
Melissa – I’m actually the opposite…I’m not a big fan of apples in their natural state, but I love them cooked in sweet recipes. Or in salad. Ha…the word..we make up words all the time. And name inanimate objects. Like code. Very similar to what you and Steve probably do…comes from years of being together?
Crystal – Perfect place for those apples! There is a printable recipe link at the bottom of the post. Enjoy.
Jenny – Apple crisp. Check. Apple pie. Check. Apple donuts. Check. I share your love! Actually, maybe we just love sugar ;-) A starter bread with apples? Mmmm.
Jennifer aka Ms. Jenny says
I am so making these this weekend! I love apple crisp, dutch apple pie, apple dounuts……OK I just love apples! YUM YUM YUM! I also wanted to let you know that I got a starter for friendship bread……….guess what I am going to put in it? APPLES……Oh yeah baby!
Crystal says
Those Apple Crumble squares look Awesome! Would you mind sharing the recipe? I have some apples left over from the orchard I just don’t know what to do with.
Melissa says
Happy Anniversary Amy and Paul!
These look really, really, really good to me. And I’m not a big fan of cooked apple desserts. But yeah.
P.S. Yumminosity? Sounds like a made up word around our house…
Jude says
Apples in the upper Midwest are a big deal. The University of Minnesota developed the Honey Crisp and SweeTango varieties. Bayfield, Wisconsin holds a huge festival each year in honor of the apple. http://bayfield.org/festivals_events_apple_festival.php
But there’s nothing like watching a beautiful wedding taking place in a California apple orchard!
Amy says
Prerna – Maybe a chicken apple curry is in our future? Sounds pretty good, actually…
Paul – Because I was a little…busy, ahem.
Cheryl – I love apple picking. We had so much fun last year, can’t wait to take the kids again. You’ll love how your house smells after this, no doubt.
Joanne – Ha! THAT would be perfect. Seriously. And your wedding cake could be pumpkin spice with cream cheese frosting. Oh my. I want to be invited.
Dad – These are loaded with cinnamon, so right up your alley. They can’t replace mom’s apple pie, but they are a nice back-up. I saw a link the other day for marzipan stuffed cupcakes…instant coronary!
Jen – I probably gave you too many, but I can’t have them in my house! Too much temptation. Put them in the fridge…or see if they freeze well?
Astrid – It’s a prerequisite if they want to receive samples ;-) Kidding. So lucky we’re only about 45-60 minutes away from the orchard we were married in. Well worth the short drive. They have iris gardens up there, too. Gorgeous!
Heather – LOVE honey crisp. Use those all the time. I tried this Sweet Tango for the first time because the market was promoting them. They were really sweet and juicy.
Heather C says
Happy Anniversary Amy & Paul– these recipes look so yummy! Have you ever had a “honey crisp” apple? It’s our all time favorite apple in the Campbell household.
Astrid says
I love that your family is commenting on this! These bars look delicious. I love crumbly topping. So much. So this may need to be made sometime soon. I must say that I am jelous of people with apple orchards nearby. This part of Texas doesn’t have apple orchards, so unfortunately, no apple picking for me!
Jen says
I can vouch for the yumminess of these. So worth making…or getting from your sister. ;o)
Dad says
I’ll take three squares with lunch, and then put some vanilla ice cream on my apple cranberry crisp, and I’ll have that to go. Scrumpiliscious which is the adjective explaining yumminosity.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Oooooo, how about a reproduction of the marzipan cake?
Joanne says
happy anniversary chica! Now you’ve got me thinking…I should totally get married in a pumpkin field! How fitting would THAT be!
I am so jealous of the fact that you won’t have to contend with horrendous weather…no WONDER you’re looking forward to winter! Or at least not dreading it.
These apple crumble bars are going to have to be my consolation prize. For living in the northeast.
Cheryl says
We’re picking apples this weekend so I’m putting this on the to do list. Oh and I’m also making that applesauce. I can already smell how wonderful they are.
Paul says
How come we didn’t have this at our wedding????? It would have been perfecter.
I can vouch for the yumminosity of these.
Prerna@IndianSimmer says
Hands down my all time favorite other than chicken curry ofcourse :-)
Love the recipe! Trying this one as soon as that apple pie n apple fruit leather in my refrigerator is gone!
Lauren says
Can you make this & freeze?
Amy @Belly Full says
Yes. Cool completely, then you can freeze the bars for up to 2 months in a freezer safe, airtight container – then thaw overnight in the refrigerator.