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)
Can I use agave as a substitute for the brown sugar?
I bet you can, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t tell you about the liquid ratio :-?.
I just subbed agave in the same measurements you used for the brown sugar and it turned out fabulous!!
Ok, these are positively EVIL!!!! In a good way of course, but I couldn’t stop eating them! My husband really liked them too and he loves things like apple pie, apple crisp etc. He devoured them! Unfortunately so did I so I won’t be making these very often. 🙂
Aww Becca, that makes me SO happy!!
So, you could use ONLY gluten free oat flour in here and it would be ok? I wasn’t sure since there would be absolutely NO gluten.. Didn’t know if it would hold together and such…any thoughts? I’m trying to make it gluten free. 🙂
I’d recommend using a gf mix, such as Arrowhead Mills or Bob’s gf mix. If you used all coconut flour, for example, it’d be crumbly. Another thought is to use a blend of different gf flours and add a little xantham gum, but I’ve never tried it and don’t know the proportions. To be safe, I’d try and find a premade mix.
I made it gluten free by using almond flour instead of wheat flour. I don’t get the same coverage Katie does on the top – it looks more like apple crisp with bits of apple sticking out – but it’s amazingly delicious. Crumbly when warm, but holds together well when cold. Of course, I made other modifications so I can’t guarantee that yours will be the same (chilled coconut oil instead of vegan butter and no sugar except the packet of stevia) but you can try as you like if almonds agree with you.
Thanks for a fantastic recipe! This is delicious served warm or cold… tastes almost like an apple pie!
Katie-These were absolutely delish! Thank you so much for the recipe! My entire family enjoyed the tasty sweet (but not too sweet) treat.
Hey – just wondering – how many servings do these make? it’s not specified and i would love to know! thank you!!
It makes an 8×8 pan, so you can cut them into however many you want… it depends on if you want bigger squares or little ones :).
Very delicious! I am new to veganism, and this recipe really hit the spot. Even my parents loved it, and they’re always making fun of my cooking endeavors. Thank you!
When I used to work at Edible Arrangements they’d let us eat some of the fruit and chocolate covered granny smith apples are DELICIOUS! Sweet and tangy.
I really LOVE the idea of these bars but the only thing holding me back is the butter. Id like to leave it out or sub butter for more apple sauce. What do you think? I say your raspberry cobbler bars have no butter but I want apple and a bar that looks soft like the apple ones not crumbly or scone-ish like the raspberry cobbler bars.
Sorry, I haven’t tried it with anything else. Some commenters say coconut oil works, though.
Can it be made with almond or coconut flower
Sorry, I don’t know.
These were delicious, Katie! My coworkers gobbled them up very quickly. I’ve linked back to your blog here:
http://evabakes.blogspot.com/2012/01/hot-apple-crumble-bars.html
I just made these today, but instead of cutting into bars, I made it as a pie. My family loved it! My grandpa, who initially turned down the huge portion I dished out to him, finished the slice (with whipped cream!) in record time!
I had to change up the recipe a bit… Since I was fresh out of brown sugar, I substituted some more white sugar + a tbs of honey. Delicious! I also drizzled a little caramel sauce on the pie before baking… Yum!
Oh wow, I love your idea!
Ah, hindsight… In writing down the instructions by hand I see I dropped the “1” from “1 1/2 C flour”… That explains a lot. Heh, well it’s in the oven now, let’s see what happens.
This blog is AMAZING! Almost all of these recipes have ingredients found in my household! I just started a vegan diet and was worried about how bland and difficult my life would become, then I found this blog and I am so excited to try all of these recipes!! I am about to start out with this recipe as my first try. The only thing I am missing is vegan butter, is there any other substitution you know of besides coconut oil?
Thank you for being so… Awesome!!
Thank you so much for such a sweet comment. Maybe another type of oil will work, but I haven’t tried it, so I can’t vouch for the results. Many regular grocery stores do carry Earth Balance, so it’s worth looking if you haven’t already.
I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have found you!! I started eating vegan after I had my son last fall as he is dairy and egg intolerant so I’m having to relearn how to eat after 27 years. Up until now I’ve been living on veggie hummus wraps for all meals the last 6 months…so you are my saving grace! I made these last night and even my crazy picky husband loved them. I did use all agave instead of any sugar and they are seriously fabulous….i also drizzled a little melted chocolate over top bc you know chocolate is totally essential. Although the biggest hit so far has been the deep dish cookie…oh if you could have seen his jaw drop when I said it was chick pea based! Priceless! You totally rock!!
aw that made me smile 🙂
So glad they turned out well!
I made these tonight with coconut oil, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 5 packets of Stevia. I used 1/3 each whole wheat, white, and oat flour, and a little roasted coconut. They were fantastic, everyone I had over had seconds. This is my favourite recipe of yours after the chick pea blondies. Keep them coming, you are awesome!