An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but an apple bar a day keeps me sane! No but seriously boos, these apple bars are the bomb dot com. They taste just like apple pie, only quicker to make and a whole lot lighter. I wanted to keep them as nutrient-dense and refined sugar–free as possible, so you can actually count on them for a grab-and-go breakfast or snack. But you can eat them however you like! Warm, cold, plain, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Get into it.
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How to Make Apple Bars
Step 1: Whisk together the flour, sugar, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt, then cut in the cold butter. Mix in the egg yolk and cold water (or honey if using) until crumbly. Press half the mixture into the prepared pan for the crust and save the rest for the topping.
Step 2: Stir together apple slices, lemon juice, flour, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla until combined.
Step 3: Spread the apple filling evenly over the crust, sprinkle the remaining crumble on top, then bake until golden and set.
Step 4: Melt the butter and honey together in a pot until smooth and slightly thickened, then whisk in the cream and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, salt, and cinnamon, let it thicken as it cools, then drizzle the caramel over the baked bars. Enjoy!
PRO TIP: Feel free to add 1 cup total of your favorite berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries) and bring the apples down to 1 1/2 cups.
Apple Bars Recipe
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Ingredients
For the Crumble and Crust
- 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar or 1/3 cup honey (start at 1/4 cup and add until it gets crumbly)
- 1/4 cup ground almonds
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tbsp cold water
For the Apple Filling
- 2 1/2 cups fresh apple slices
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Honey Caramel
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- pinch of cinnamon
Instructions
For the Crumble and Crust
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a 8×8-inch baking pan with the non-stick coating of your choice.
- For the crumb and crust, whisk together flour, sugar, ground almonds, baking powder and salt.
- Next, cut in the cold butter using two forks or a pastry cutter then slowly mix in the egg yolk and cold water (if you using honey instead of sugar, add in here as well). Don't worry if the dough seems really crumbly. It should be!
- Next take half of the crumble mixture and press into the prepared pan. The rest should be saved for the top of the bars.
For the Apple Filling
- Stir together apple slices, lemon juice, flour, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla until combined.
- To assemble, evenly add apple filling to the top of the crust.
- Next sprinkle the remaining crumble over the top of the apple filling.
- Bake for 30-38 minutes or until golden brown and set.
- Cool bars to room temperature then cut and serve.
For the Honey Caramel
- While bars bake, add butter and honey to a medium sized pot over medium heat and allow the butter to melt and combine with the honey. Once butter completely melts, stir together over medium high heat for about 5-6 minutes or until it has thickened somewhat.
- Whisk in the cream and bring to a boil then remove from heat. Finally stir in the vanilla, salt and cinnamon and allow it to thicken and cool a bit. Drizzle caramel sauce over completed bars and enjoy!
Notes
- Room Temp: Keep your apple bars in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days.
- Fridge: Pop them in the fridge and they will stay fresh for about 5 days. You can eat them cold or warm them up in the microwave or oven.
- Freezer: Wrap the cooled bars tightly and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then reheat in the oven at 350°F until warmed through or give individual bars a quick zap in the microwave.
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overwork the crumble dough. You want those little butter bits showing so your apple crumble bars bake up with the right texture.
- Pick the right apples from the jump. Sweet, crisp ones like Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Pink Lady will give your bars the best flavor and bite.
- When it’s time to cut, grab a big sharp knife and press straight down. That keeps the crackly top from flaking off everywhere.
- Let the bars cool completely before slicing. It helps them set up so you get neat, sturdy apple squares instead.
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I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Recipe Help
Yes! You can slice your apples and toss them with the lemon juice, cinnamon, and honey a day ahead, then keep them in the fridge. You can also mix up the crumble dough, cover, and refrigerate overnight. When you’re ready to bake, just assemble and pop it in the oven.
Nope, that’s totally up to you!
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Definitely cakey and not crumbly for me too and I put the honey in little by little. I’m sure they will be delicious for a honey theme for my book club discussing The Music of Bees. Thank you
Thanks so much, doll!
The topping did not thicken up very much, what can I do?
It might have needed more cooking time, if you already added it to your bars there isn’t much you can do. If not then I would heat on low until it starts the thicken up and make sure you stir often so it doesn’t burn.
I like this recipe very much. I think I could have cooked my bars a bit longer. They were a bit soft but very delicious. My guys cut them, but whipped cream on them and scooped them up. I will be making this again. Thinking about adding it as an additional take-home dessert for my family at Thanksgiving. Good flavor, affordable, low effort and delicious. After years of complicated pies and cakes, maybe these little bars will let me have a break (smile). Thanks Jocelyn!
Are these purchased ground almonds or should I grind them myself in a processor? We have our own honey, and I must try this recipe it looks so good.
YES they are purchased ground almonds or you can make your own or even omit if you don’t want to use them at all and sub with more flour.
You are not kidding, this screams fall. I can’t wait to try these!
WHEWWWWW. Made these bars for a small birthday gathering later and it’s VERY HARD not to dive in right now. The honey caramel is transcendent – complex and smoky. My honey butter mixture was ready at about 4 mins bc my stove runs hot. The crumb topping/crust is so tasty with the addition of the almond flour. I keep picking at the edges of the bars and sighing hahaha – that’s how tasty it is!
Great flavor combination! I made them as listed, but was disappointed that my dough came out very wet and not at all crumbly. And the crust baked up cakey soft also, not the crispy texture I was looking for. But my family had no issues…they snarfed them right up! I will have to try it again to see if I goofed on measurements. Delicious!
Great honey apple bars.
I needed to cut the honey in half for the crust/topping. Could be the water content in my honey but don’t go adding all the honey at once. I ended up with a paste. Still delicious though! Will make again