These easy apple crisp bars have a buttery shortbread crust, a homemade apple pie filling, and is topped with a cinnamon spiced oat crisp topping. In total, these bars take just 20 minutes to prep, making them a perfect dessert to make during the holiday season. Without fail, my family asks me to make these every year for Thanksgiving!
Why You'll Love These Apple Bars
- Tastes just like an apple pie. You get the best of both a classic apple pie and a homemade apple crisp with these bars.
- There are three delicious layers. These bars are baked in one pan and has three layers: a buttery shortbread crust (the same one I use for my pumpkin pie bars), fall spiced apple filling, and a brown sugar cinnamon crispy oats topping.
- Honeycrisp apples. In my opinion, honeycrisp apples are the BEST apples to use in almost any apple dessert recipe. They're crisp, juicy, and sweet.
- Easy to prep in just 20 minutes. As the shortbread crust prebakes, you are able to make both the apple pie filling and crisp topping. Then, you just pour over the top of the crust and finish the baking process.
- They're perfect for Thanksgiving. Without fail, my mother-in-law asks me to make these apple crisp bars every Thanksgiving. I also make these mini apple pies and no bake pumpkin cheesecakes bars.
For more apple desserts that would go great for your Thanksgiving gathering, I highly recommend this best apple cider coffee cake and mini caramel apple cheesecakes.
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As a busy mom to a toddler, I love that this recipe is easily made in a baking pan and requires such minimal effort! Any home baker should add these to their baking list!
Feel free to even add a drizzle of caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream, or even whipped cream to yours!
Ingredients For Apple Crisp Bars
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour.
- Unsalted Butter: Use melted butter for the crust and room temperature for the streusel.
- Apples: I used honeycrisp apples, but you could also use an assortment of your favorite, such as pink lady apples or even granny smith apples.
- Apple Pie Spice: You can buy this from your local grocery store or make your own. Here is my apple pie spice recipe that I highly recommend!
- Lemon Juice: This adds a touch of tartness to the apple filling.
- Old Fashioned Oats: Use old-fashioned oats (also called rolled oats). Do not substitute them for quick oats.
See the recipe card for the full ingredients list and the exact amounts.
How To Make The Best Apple Crisp Bars
Step 1: In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.
Press the dough into a prepared baking pan and bake for 16-20 minutes, or just until the dough starts to turn a light brown.
Step 2: In a large bowl, mix together the apple slices, sugar, flour, apple pie spice, and lemon juice. Set aside.
Step 3: In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, flour, ground cinnamon, and salt until combined.
Add the cubed butter, and use a pastry cutter or two forks to cut into the crisp mixture. You can also use your hands.
Step 4: Evenly spread out the apple filling over the top of the baked shortbread crust.
Step 5: Then sprinkle on the crisp topping.
Bake the bars for 40-50 minutes, or until the apples are cooked through and the crisp topping is golden brown.
Step 6: Cool completely before slicing into bars.
Storing & Freezing
Storing: Keep any leftover bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
You can reheat the bars in either the microwave on a microwave-safe plate or in the oven.
Freezing: To freeze, wrap each individual pie square in plastic wrap and place them into an airtight container or freezer bag. They can stay frozen for up to 2 months.
Professional Home Baking Tips
- Baking Pan: Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper and then non-stick cooking spray. This helps to remove the bars once they've cooled.
- Shortbread Crust: The crust needs to bake first before assembling and baking the bars. This helps for the crust to not be soggy or underbaked.
- Apples: I used an apple peeler to peel, core, and thinly slice my apples. This helped tremendously since we need thin slices.
- Perfect Squares: If you want to easily slice your pie bars, place the baking dish in the freezer for 30 minutes after they've chilled at room temperature for 2 hours. This will help to slice even and clean bars. Use a serrated knife.
Recipe FAQs
The biggest difference is that a crisp always includes a crunchy element like oats or nuts, whereas a crumble is more like a streusel topping.
I love using honeycrisp apples, but also using two types of apples will add an extra layer of flavor and texture.
Absolutely! That's why I love making them for Thanksgiving. You can make them the day before and they can sit out at room temperature for 24 hours before needing to be refrigerated.
📖 Recipe
Easy Apple Crisp Bars Recipe
Equipment
- 8x8 inch baking pan
- Mixing Bowls
- Apple Peeler
Ingredients:
Shortbread Crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Apple Filling
- 4 apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced ¼ inch
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons apple pie spice
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Crisp Topping
- ¾ cup old-fashioned oats (rolled oats)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature & cubed
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8-inch pan with foil and then non-stick spray. Set aside.
Shortbread Crust
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, mix together the flour, melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Press the dough into the prepared baking pan and bake for 16-20 minutes, or just until the dough starts to turn a light brown.
Apple Filling
- Peel, core, and thinly slice your apples. I used an apple peeler for this part. Once sliced, place the apples in a large bowl.
- Add the sugar, flour, apple pie spice, and lemon juice and mix together with the apples until they're fully coated.
Crisp Topping
- In a medium bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, flour, ground cinnamon, and salt until combined.
- Add the cubed butter, and use a pastry cutter or two forks to cut into the crisp mixture. You can also use your hands. Once the mixture resembles coarse crumbs it's ready.
Assemble
- Once the shortbread crust is baked, evenly spread out the apple filling over the top. Then sprinkle on the crisp topping over the apples until fully covered.
- Bake the apple crisp bars for 40-50 minutes, or until the apples are cooked through and the crisp topping is golden brown.
- Cool for 2 hours at room temperature before slicing into bars. These will last for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Every Thanksgiving I make these at my mother-in-laws house. Everyone devours them up, even the kids!