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Apple Crisp Bars

Homemade apple crisp bars are the fall dessert of your dreams. With a buttery shortbread crust and crumbly crisp topping, these apple bars are sure to be a hit dessert!

apple crisp bars stacked between squares of parchment paper

Apple crisp is a favorite dessert of ours any time of year, but especially during the fall. Warm spiced apples baked with a crumbly oat topping and served with ice cream, does it get any better?

Well, these bars might just take apple crisp to the next level. Apple crisp bars have all the flavor of the classic dessert, but add in a delicious buttery shortbread crust.

You can slice them into pieces for easy individual desserts.

I love apple desserts this time of year and we love making recipes like cake mix apple cobbler and baked cinnamon apples.

Ingredients to make apple crisp bars

  • all purpose flour
  • butter: to make these dairy free you could use earth balance.
  • brown sugar
  • sugar
  • apples
  • cinnamon
  • vanilla
  • lemon juice
ingredients laid out in glass bowls

How to make apple crisp bars

Step 1: preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line an 8 by 8 baking dish with parchment paper. This will allow easy removal of the bars once they are done cooking.

Step 2: Make the shortbread crust. In a bowl, beat together the softened butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and flour and mix to combine. Press the dough into the bottom of the lined pan and bake for 15 minutes.

Step 3: While the crust is baking, make the apple crisp bar filling. Stir together the thinly sliced apples, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a bowl.

Step 4: Make the apple crisp topping. mix together the brown sugar, salt, and flour in a bowl. Use a pastry cutter or knives to cut the cold butter chunks into the flour mixture until crumbly.

Step 5: Once the crust is done baking, remove it from the oven and place the apple filling evenly over the crust. Top with the apple crisp topping.

Step 6: Bake for 45 – 55 minutes, until golden browned on top and bubbly on the edges. Allow bars to cool at least 30 – 45 minutes in the pan, then gently use the parchment paper edges to pull the bars out. Cut into squares and serve!

You can either cut them into big slices as shown, or into 16 little squares.

Our favorite way to enjoy these is warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side, but honestly we’d eat them cold out of the fridge too!

Apple crisp bars from scratch will always be a fall must have in our house.

They really are so simple to make and everyone loves them!

apple crisp bars in a white square baking dish

If you go apple picking this year, be sure to make this recipe!

Your house will smell incredible with cinnamon apple goodness.

Are you making this recipe? I want to see! Don’t forget to tag me on instagram @buildyourbite and hashtag #buildyourbite with your recipe creations!

apple crisp bars stacked between squares of parchment paper

More Apple Recipes

apple crisp bars cut into 9 pieces

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apple crisp bars stacked between squares of parchment paper

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apple crisp bars stacked between squares of parchment paper

Apple Crisp Bars

Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

These homemade apple crisp bars are a delicious fall dessert made with a delicious shortbread crust.

Ingredients

For the Shortbread Crust

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ½ cup salted butter, softened
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling

  • 4 cups thinly sliced apples
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

For the crisp topping

  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup all purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into cubes

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 by 8 baking dish with parchment paper, and let the sides overhang so that you can lift the bars out of the pan once cooked.
  2. First, make the shortbread crust. In a bowl, beat together the softened butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and flour and mix to combine
  3. Press the dough into the bottom of the lined pan
  4. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees
  5. While the crust is baking, prepare the filling and crisp bar topping
  6. For the filling, stir together the thinly sliced apples, lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a bowl
  7. To make the crisp topping, mix together the brown sugar, salt, and flour in a bowl. Use a pastry cutter or knives to cut the cold butter chunks into the flour mixture until crumbly.
  8. Once the crust is done baking, remove it from the oven and place the apple filling evenly over the crust. 
  9. Distribute the crisp topping over the apple filling
  10. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 - 55 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbly. 
  11. Allow the bars to cool in the pan for at least 30 - 45 minutes, then gently use the parchment paper to pull the bars out of the pan. Cut into squares and serve
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 235Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 139mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 1gSugar: 17gProtein: 2g

Did you make this recipe?

Be sure to tag me on instagram @buildyourbite and hashtag #buildyourbite with your recipe creations!

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Linda

Monday 17th of October 2022

Can these be frozen?

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