Easy Apple Crisp Bars Recipe
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!
Servings: 12 bars
Calories: 324kcal
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.
Notes
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.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bar | Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 80mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 507IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
