Apple Crumble Bars

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Author: Delphine Fortin
Prep Time: 25 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 9 servings 1x
Category: Pies
Cuisine: American

You’ll love these EASY apple crumble bars! They feature a simple shortbread crust for both the bottom and the top crumble part, and a soft apple cinnamon filling inside. It’s easier and quicker than an apple pie, yet equally delicious!

Ingredients

Scale

For the shortbread-like crust (top and bottom parts):

½ cup (100g) sugar
2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
⅔ cup (150g) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 large egg

For the filling:

5 medium apples (approx. 500g), peeled, cored and diced into small pieces*
3 Tablespoons (45g) unsalted butter
¼ cup (50g) white sugar
¼ cup (45g) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon**
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg**
¼ teaspoon ground allspice**
A pinch of salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease and line a 9-inch (23 cm) square pan with parchment paper. Leave an overhang of paper to use as a sling to lift the bars out.
For the shortbread-like dough, mix all the dry ingredients together. Incorporate softened butter with your finger tips until no lumps remain. Add the egg, and stir well until the dough comes together.
Pour half of the dough into the prepared pan and press flat into the base of the pan, using the palm of your hand, a glass or a measuring cup.
For the apple filling, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add diced apples, and cook for about 5-8 minutes, stirring often, until apples are soft and tender. Mix in white and brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice**, and a pinch of salt. Pour in the lemon juice, and continue cooking for about 2 minutes, until apples are soft and sticky. Add the flour, mix well, and allow mixture to thicken. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Then, spoon the filling onto the base and in the pan and level with the back of the spoon.
Crumble the remaining dough over the apple filling. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the crumble is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely until the filling has set. Use the paper sling to lift the bars out of the pan onto a chopping board, slice into squares, and serve!

Notes

* You can use any apples you like (Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji, Golden, etc.). Make sure you dice apple into small pieces.

** If you don’t like apple spice, you can replace cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice with vanilla seeds extracted from one vanilla pod. It makes a delicious vanilla apple crumble bar, the French way!