Apple Crisp Bars

Apple crisp is a classic dessert and is even better in a bar! These apple crisp bars have a flakey shortbread base topped with soft, delicious fresh apples, a cinnamon oat crumble and drizzled with caramel. It’s the perfect fall dessert!

Apple Crisp Bar Recipe

In the fall, I have a plethora of apples! I find myself pulling out all my apple recipes so that I can utilize all the apples, so they don’t go bad. We love a good apple crisp, but this year I wanted to make them into a bar. I set out to make a recipe and I think I nailed it.

I like to make a little treat for my boys when they get home from school. They’re usually ravenous when they get home, so I have found feeding them ASAP is helpful. This is also my time to talk with them about how their day went while they are eating a sweet treat. It’s time that I treasure each and every day. I made these apple crisp bars recently and had them ready when they got home from school. My boys thought they were amazing and proceeded to eat half the pan, so I guess you can say they were well liked.

The Cowboys’ Rating: 10/10

Every time I make a new recipe, I have my family rate the recipe out of 10. By the time, these recipes make the blog, they’ve been tried and tested by some of my hardest tiny critics!

What Ingredients are in Apple Crisp Bars?

• Fresh Apples – The apples that I used were gala apples, but I really believe you can use any variety of apples.
• All-Purpose Flour
• White Sugar – I decided to use both white sugar and brown sugar in this recipe to incorporate different flavors.
• Brown Sugar – Brown sugar is a softer sugar with a hint of molasses. It is delicious and adds both moisture and flavor to the cinnamon oat crumble.
• Lemon Juice – When you add lemon juice to apples, it actually enhances their flavor!
• Cinnamon – Cinnamon and apples are just meant to be. I used cinnamon to sprinkle over the apples and in the oat crumble on top. It’s so good. And, your kitchen is going to smell like a holiday candle when you make this.
• Nutmeg – Because I really wanted to add some distinct flavors in this apple crisp, I also added nutmeg.
• Salt – I used a tiny bit of salt in the shortbread because salt always brings out the best flavors.
• Butter – Lots of butter in this recipe, which means lots of flavor and deliciousness! I used salted butter and used both softened butter and melted butter for this recipe.
• Old Fashioned Oats – These oats are flaked and make such a nice crumble.
• Baking Powder – Baking powder is a leavening agent which causes expansion and rising of your ingredients.
• Caramel Topping – This is optional, but after the apple crisp bars were baked, I drizzled a little caramel topping over the top to make it a hint sweeter. It was seriously so good.

Tools You’ll Need

• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Mixing Bowl
• 10×10″ Baking Dish
• Hand Mixer or Kitchen Aid
• Apple Peeler (optional)
• Pastry Cutter
• Spatula

How to Make Apple Crisp Bars

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 3/4 cups flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix together with a pastry cutter or fork until well combined. (The mixture will appear dry.)
3. Spray a 10×10″ baking pan with cooking spray.
4. Scrape mixture into baking pan and press down firmly and evenly to make the base.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from heat.
6. While the shortbread base is baking, peel apples and dice into small chunks.
7. Add apples to a mixing bowl and add in 1 tsp cinnamon, lemon juice, 2 tbsp flour and 2 tbsp sugar. Mix until apples are well coated.
8. Pour apple mixture over top of shortbread base and spread evenly.
9. Combine remaining ingredients together in a mixing bowl and mix well.
10. Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over top of the apple.
11. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
12. Bake for 40 minutes until the top of the apple crisp bars are golden brown.
13. Remove from heat and drizzle caramel over top.
14. Let cool, then enjoy!

Storing Apple Crisp Bars

These apple crisp bars are yummy warm and they’re yummy cold. I store them in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days. (If they last that long!)

Gluten Free Apple Crisp Bars

This recipe can easily be adapted to be gluten free. I have made these apple crisp bars gluten free by using my favorite Cup4Cup Gluten Free Flour and Bob’s Redmill Gluten Free Oats. These can be found linked below:

Cup4Cup Gluten Free Flour

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oats

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