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.
- Gourmet Deep Dark Chocolate Brownies
- Fine Cooking Creamy Fudge
- Double Chocolate Apple Butter Bread
- Chocolate Apple Butter Muffins
- Apple Pie Muffins
Recipe
Apple Crumb Bars — Small Pan
Anna
Pin Recipe
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
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a square metal pan with non-stick foil or line with parchment paper.
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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.
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Toss apples with half of the lemon juice and arrange in a fairly layer across crust. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
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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.
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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.
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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.