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Apple Crumb Bars

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

With a buttery shortbread crust and a brown sugar oat crumble, these apple crumb bars are the layered fall treat you’ve been waiting for!

Ingredients

For the shortbread crust:

  • ¾ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1–1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

  • 4 cups of peeled, cored, and sliced baking apples (I used granny smith)
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt

For the topping:

  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup rolled oats
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

To prepare the crust:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line an 8 “square baking pan with foil. Lightly grease with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. Begin by preparing the crust. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar until smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour and salt and stir just until combined to crumbs. Gently press the mixture down flat into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. In the meantime, begin making the filling.

To prepare the bars:

  1. Toss all of the filling ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, toss all the flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt together. Stir in the butter to form a clumpy mixture and set aside. When the shortbread crust has finished baking, remove from oven and evenly layer in the apple filling. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the apples and bake an additional 35 minutes, or until the topping is turning golden brown. Allow to cool completely prior to cutting into 16 squares.

Notes

  • These apple crumb bars make for an excellent sharing dessert and can even be made ahead and frozen! Just be sure to pop them back in the oven to crisp up the crumble and crust again. 

Find it online: https://thewoodandspoon.com/apple-crumb-bars/