Yummy Apple Pie Bars

Even though fall isn’t officially here yet – and temperatures are nearing 90 degrees here in the Midwest this week – my mind is already on all things fall. And that includes baking! It’s my favorite time of year!

With the fall season just around the corner, I just want to bake anything with apples. I knew I wanted something that was in the form of a bar, but I wanted to have a streusel topping too. Then I came across this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction’s website, Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars. And, well… that sounded delicious to me!

Apple Pie in Bar Form

Once I read through the whole recipe, I knew I wanted to give these a try. I mean, it sounded like an apple pie, but in bar form!

What’s nice about a recipe like this is that you can use any type or even a variety of apples you want. I opted to skip the salted caramel part of the recipe. Why would I do such a thing, you ask? Honestly, once the bars were baked and cooled, I truly didn’t feel it needed the extra sweetness of the caramel. I loved the bars as they were…plus doesn’t less sugar mean I can eat more?

Other than omitting the salted caramel, I kept true to the recipe. I love apple pie, especially when it has a nice streusel on top. And with these bars, I felt like I was eating a slice of pie. The hardest part was waiting for the bars to cool enough for me to cut into!

Three Step Recipe

This recipe has a few steps to it – the crust, filling and topping. However, once the crust is in the oven baking, you can get the rest of the ingredients together for your filling and topping. Then, you can have it all ready to go once the crust is done.

Buttery Shortbread Crust

¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 300F and place parchment in the bottom of an 8×8 pan.
Whisk together the sugar, salt and flour in a medium-sized bowl; set aside.
Melt the butter in a saucepan (or in the microwave using a microwave-safe bowl); add the vanilla.
Pour the butter & vanilla into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix together.
Press the crust into the bottom of your pan, making it as flat and even as you can.
Bake for 15 minutes.

Apple Pie Filling

2 medium-to-large apples, peeled and sliced thin (I used Gala apples)
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon*
1/8 tsp nutmeg*
*apple pie spice can be used in place of these two spices

Combine the flour, sugar and spices together in a bowl.
Add the thinly slice apples into the bowl and coat evenly.
Set aside.

Streusel Topping

½ cup oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon*
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
*apple pie spice can be used

Mix the oats, brown sugar, spice and flour together.
Using a pastry blender or fork, work the butter into the streusel until you have coarse crumbs. You’ll still have small “chunks” of butter and that’s ok.
Set aside.

Apple Pie Bar “Assembly”

Remove the buttery shortbread crust from the oven when done baking. Turn the oven temperature up to 350F.

Keeping in mind that the pan is hot, carefully add the apple filling to the pan. Be sure to spread the apples around and completely cover up the warm, bottom crust.

Add the streusel to the top of the apple filling. Again, be sure to completely cover all the apples with the mixture.

Bake the apple pie bars in a 350F oven for about 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Cool completely before cutting into the bars. Bars can be stored in the refrigerator or even frozen to enjoy some now and some later. Just be sure to wrap in an air-tight container before freezing.

What Do You Think?

I hope you’re not overwhelmed by the recipe. While there may seem like a lot of steps, it really is easy to make…and well worth it! If you tried it, what do you think? Looking for another apple recipe to try? Check out my recipe on Apple Turnovers – An Easy Brunch Treat. Happy Fall Y’all!

Original recipe post taken from www.sallysbakingaddiction.com/salted-caramel-apple-pie-bars.

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