Desserts

Better-Than-Apple-Pie Bars

Made using your favorite apples and covered with a crumb topping, these apple pie bars are a perfect fall treat.

A tray of crumb-topped apple bars with a single bar placed on a white plate. The dessert is lightly dusted with powdered sugar and sits on a parchment-lined surface.

Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine

Photo Credit : Katherine Keenan

Apple pie is great, but apple pie bars are, well, better. I like Honeycrisp and Pink Ladies in these bars, but I won’t lie: Granny Smiths are my go-to. The crumb topping and crust can be made old-school style with your hands (always the best tools in the kitchen), but if you use your food processer, you will save time. The crumb topping and crust soften a bit on day two, and that is hardly a bad thing.

This recipe from Jessie Sheehan appeared in the Sep/Oct 2024 issue of Yankee Magazine. Jessie has published more than 200 such recipes in her most recent books, Snackable Bakes, and her latest, Salty, Cheesy, Herby, Crispy Snackable Bakes, from which these recipes are excerpted. 

Yield:

16 bars

Ingredients

Cooking spray or softened unsalted butter, for the pan
2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring your fingers
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease an 8-inch square cake pan with cooking spray or softened butter. Line the pan with a long piece of parchment paper that extends up and over two opposite sides of the pan.

To make the crumb topping and crust by hand, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients using your fingers, until the butter is crumbly and pea-sized. Stir in the egg and vanilla with a fork, or your hands, until the mixture holds together when squeezed. Alternatively, to make the topping and crust with a food processor, pulse the dry ingredients and the butter in the bowl of the processer until the butter is pea-sized, then pulse in the egg and vanilla.

Remove 1½ cups of the crumb mixture and refrigerate in a small bowl. Evenly press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan with floured fingers, prick holes in the surface with a fork, and bake for about 15 minutes.

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