With a buttery crumble crust and sweet apple filling, these homemade apple crumble bars are soft, chewy, and absolutely delightful any time of the year.
The best apple crumble bars
These are pretty much guaranteed to disappear at parties!
Imagine all the deliciousness of traditional hot apple crumble, conveniently packed into a bar, with cinnamon apples pressed between a shortbread crust and crumble topping.
If you are looking for a simple and delightful seasonal dessert that isn’t pumpkin, be sure to give these classic baked apple crumble bars a try.
Also make these Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
I’ve now done raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, peach, and cherry pie versions of the recipe, but apple might just be my favorite flavor.
There is just something so cozy and comforting about the apple cinnamon combination paired with the rich crust and topping.
It’s a perfect dessert, not just for the Fall season, but also for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July, or any time you are craving apple pie!
Readers also love this Brownie in a Mug
Apple crumble bar ingredients
For the recipe, you will need flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, salt, sweetener, a fat source, cornstarch or arrowroot, and diced apple.
The bars work with white all purpose flour or with spelt flour or oat flour for healthy whole grain apple bars. I have not tried the bars with whole wheat flour and do not recommend using coconut flour or almond flour.
If you do not wish to use refined sugar, feel free to swap it out for an equal amount of unrefined coconut sugar, date sugar, or sugar free granulated erythritol or xylitol.
To sweeten the apples, you can use pure maple syrup, honey, agave, or any other all purpose liquid or granulated sweetener.
As a fun flavor variation, you can also stir in a handful of shredded coconut, finely chopped walnuts, or raisins with the diced apples.
The pastry crust can be made with butter, coconut oil, or even softened almond butter. For low fat apple crumble bars, replace three tablespoons of the fat with milk of choice.
As mentioned earlier, some or all of the apples can easily be swapped out for blackberries, cherries, blueberries, peaches, mango, or other fruit of choice.
Apple crumble bar recipe video
Watch the step by step video above.
Caramel apple crumble bars
If you are feeling really decadent, sprinkle a layer of finely chopped salted caramels on top of the apple layer before adding the crumble topping.
While these salted caramel apple bars might not be the healthiest option, they are a melt-in-your-mouth decadent autumn treat to enjoy in moderation and are always super popular at parties.
Update: Try this full recipe for Caramel Apple Bars
How to make apple crumble bars
Gather the ingredients, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line an eight inch square baking pan with parchment paper, or grease it well. Then set this pan aside.
In a large mixing bowl, stir the cinnamon, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Stir in the butter or oil and optional milk of choice. Also add a fourth teaspoon of salt if using oil or unsalted butter.
Press about two thirds of this pastry dough very firmly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan to form a pie crust. Reserve the remaining dough.
Toss the peeled and diced apples with the cornstarch and liquid sweetener. Spread this easy apple pie filling evenly over the crust.
Sprinkle the reserved dough on top, and press this crumb topping down firmly.
Place the pan on the oven’s center rack. Bake for 50 minutes. Let cool before slicing, during which time the bars will firm up.
Storing the apple bars
Leftovers can be covered and stored on the counter overnight, with a small opening to allow moisture to escape and thus prevent against gummy bars.
After a day, refrigerate the apple crumble bars in an airtight container for freshness.
Or freeze the bars, with a layer of parchment paper in between each bar so they do not stick together. Thaw frozen bars before serving.
This recipe makes about twenty to twenty five apple crumble slices. I cut them into twenty five apple squares for the pictures.
The bars were adapted from my Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
Is the recipe vegan, gluten free, or keto?
For vegan apple crumble bars, simply choose a plant based butter spread or go with the coconut oil or almond butter. The bars are already naturally egg free.
Use certified gluten free oat flour to make gluten free apple crumble bars. I have not tried all purpose gluten free flour here, but please feel free to experiment!
While this recipe is not low carb or keto friendly, I do have many other keto dessert options, including Keto Cookies, Keto Cake, and Keto Cheesecake.
Apple Crumble Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour (spelt, white, or oat)
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup sugar or coconut sugar
- 3/4 cup butter or coconut oil or almond butter
- 3 tbsp milk of choice or additional butter
- 3 1/4 cup diced apple (2 large or 3 medium)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup or sweetener of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Stir the first five ingredients together, then cut in the butter or stir in the oil. (Also add an additional 1/4 tsp salt if using oil or unsalted butter.) Press about 2/3 of the dough firmly into the bottom of an 8×8 pan lined with parchment paper. Toss the apples with the cornstarch and liquid sweetener, then spread this over the crust. Sprinkle remaining dough evenly over everything, and press down. Bake 50 minutes, then let cool before slicing into bars.The coconut oil version of the apple crumble bars (which is shown in the photos) will be more crumbly, so I recommend chilling the bars before cutting for cleaner slices.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Apple Dessert Recipes
Overnight Oats (including an apple cinnamon version)
I can assure you, the chocolate apple combination IS good! especially if it’s a chocolate spread…delicious!
I would think that chocolate, CARMEL and apple would be a divine combo too. . . .as I LOVE those large chocolate covered carmel apples at the candy shops!
Chocolate apple combo is definitely a winner! I made apple chocolate chip cookies a couple weeks ago and they were all the rave!!!
The first picture made me want to reach into the screen and grab the bar out of it! Beautiful job, Katie! (I don’t eat apples much so I don’t have a preference for any, but I do prefer the small redder ones!)
I tried the apple-chocolate combination in a ‘cinnamon roll’ once and it was good!!
I’ve had the chocolate apple combination in an edible arrangement before and it IS delicious!! You could definitely do a spin off of that for those apple pancakes.
I too like Pink Lady apples but right now my favourite is Ambrosia–not too sweet and super crisp. I hear you on the mushy–mushy apples are the worst! they don’t even cook well. I am trying these bars for sure! thanks so much!!
Oh, it’s so nice to finally meet another Pink Lady lover! No one I know seems to have heard of them, which is a shame because they are so crisp and not too sweet and amazing unpeeled
I love them!! Heaps of them here in Oz
These look amazing, Katie!!! Of course, no surprise there! 😀
I also love how you’re going to use up the leftover apples – I’ve made your apple pancakes two or three times, once for dinner! Yum, yum 🙂
My favorite apples are honeycrisps!! I’ve been eating at least one a day lately 🙂
<3 <3
Oooooh,these look SO good! I really have to try them,soon!
Sadly,I cannot tolarate raw apples so good (with baked ones,it’s a different story!) – they always make my stomach ache 🙁 But sometimes,I just HAVE to eat one and OF COURSE,my favorite kind of apple is the Pink Lady! 😀 I hate Gala apples though,they are so… sweet. But in a negative way. Ugh.
Oh man, chocolate and apples can be a great combination!
My favourite thing is Honeycrisp apples, made kind of like a caramel apple. Instead of dipping them in caramel, though, you dip them in tempered dark chocolate, then quickly roll them in a mixture of oats and almonds (toasted lightly in a dry skillet, then pulsed in a food processor until uniform in size) before the chocolate sets up. Sometimes I throw little star confetti sprinkles into oat/almond mix. Yum!
It’s all about the Honeycrisp apples, which of course have a growing season of about 5 minutes. The ones at whole foods have been huge and delicious all season.
These look great! I will definitely give them a go. I wonder how they would turn out with a graham cracker crust type thing on the bottom… We will see!
I get my apples locally from a small family-owned orchard. They are the absolute best, nice and tart and sweet. When I am forced to buy them from the store, I am always disappointed. They just don’t compare!
KATIE!! OH MY GOSH… love the texture of these babies!
I gotta say i love pink lady apples, but iv heard honeycrips are bomb– so when i can get my hands on one/ when europe decides to import them, then i shall try em!
Pink Ladies are BY FAR my favorite!! They are like candy to me! I haven’t been able to find them in the stores for the past several weeks they seem to have been replaced by Honey crisps which are my new second favorite … they have a wonderful texture!
These look awesome. What did you dress up as for the party you went to? 🙂 My favorite apples are gala but i also love fuji. Delicious!
“My Inner Child”
It’s all I could think of!
I’ll hopefully post photos tomorrow 🙂
Haha, that’s a great idea! I’m sure we all look forward to pictures.
I just found your blog and I’m so happy I did! These apple crumble bars looks so good. I love how you take indulgent recipes and health-ify them just a bit, without compromising flavor!
Can’t wait to read more. 🙂
Aww I’m so glad you found me… and lol I love your blog title! 🙂
you’ve never had chocolate dipped apples?!? they’re the best! there’s a store called “Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory” that pretty much specializes in chocolate dipped apples. they have a bunch of different seasonal “flavors” – i think you’d be obsessed (lol)!
check it out – a healthy(er) vegan version would be awesome: https://rockymountainchocolatefactory.com/rmcf/control/productList
they’re also all about chocolate dipped apples on food network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/chocolate-dipped-apples-recipe/index.html (paula deen – hehe)
THAT LOOKS AMAZING o_o
Too bad I haven’t felt like baking nowadays :\ and that I also have no apples in my house…
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