Apple Pie Bars
Updated Aug. 3, 2022
- Total Time
- 1½ hours, plus cooling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Softened butter, for greasing pan
- 3cups/385 grams all-purpose flour
- 1cup/200 grams sugar
- 1teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3sticks/340 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- ¾cup/75 grams walnuts, toasted and chopped
- ½teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1½pounds/680 grams tart apples, such as Granny Smith (about 3 large), peeled, cored and cut into ⅛-inch slices
- 1½pounds/680 grams sweet-tart apples, such as Fuji, Pink Lady or Gala (about 3 large), peeled, cored and cut into ⅛-inch slices
- 3tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼cup/55 grams unsalted butter (½ stick)
- 1teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ½teaspoon ground cardamom
- ⅔cup/135 grams sugar
For the Crust and Topping
For the Apple Filling
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)
298 calories; 17 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 20 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 100 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the crust and topping: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch cake pan with foil with overhang on all sides. Lightly grease pan with softened butter.
- Step 2
Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor with the blade attachment to mix. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand. Put 1½ cups in a medium bowl and mix in walnuts, cinnamon and cardamom. Squeeze with your hands to form a solid mass of dough. It’s O.K. if a few bits fall off. Cover and refrigerate.
- Step 3
Pour remaining mixture into prepared pan and spread in an even layer, then press into bottom of pan and ½ inch up the sides.
- Step 4
Bake until golden brown and dry to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees.
- Step 5
While crust bakes, make the filling: Toss all of the apples with the lemon juice in a large bowl. Melt butter in a large sauté pan set over medium-high heat. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom and sizzle for 15 seconds. Add apples and cook, stirring often, until just starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and stir well. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all liquid releases from the apples then evaporates, 10 to 15 minutes. The mixture should be quite dry and the apples tender, but not sticking to the pan. Remove from heat and cool. (Tip: If you want your apples to cool quickly, spread them on a parchment-lined sheet pan and pop in the freezer for 5 to 7 minutes.)
- Step 6
Spread apple filling evenly over crust and press down gently to get rid of any gaps between the apple slices. Uncover the reserved walnut mixture and break off pebble-sized pieces. Arrange pieces in a lattice or striped pattern over filling or scatter evenly on top.
- Step 7
Bake until the topping is golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack. To serve, lift apple pie bars out of pan and onto a large cutting board. Slide bars off foil, then cut into 6 even strips crosswise and 4 even strips lengthwise.
- The unbaked crust and topping, reserved in the bowl and pressed into the pan, can be refrigerated for up to 2 days before baking, or frozen for up to 1 month and used directly from the freezer. The cooked apple pie filling can be refrigerated for up to 2 days and used directly from the refrigerator.
Private Notes
Comments
I make a simplified version of this Streusel with no sugar in the apple and only one baking. In other words, I put the chopped (unpeeled) apples and nuts directly on top of the chilled raw crust, grate the rest of the dough on top and bake it in one go. Bake near the bottom of the oven.
Delicious as written! Yes, a pie is little bit easier, but you have to eat the whole pie. These little beauties keep in the fridge and freeze beautifully. You can pull out a few at a time if you need a quick dessert and they are like the day you baked them. They also make a generous 24 bars. As for the butter, my goodness, this is a dessert.. and well worth the splurge! Most negative comments on this recipe are because people don't care for cardamon. This is like the cilantro thing!!
These are delicious! Left out cardamom (I was out) but otherwise followed recipe as-is. My husband, who doesn’t cook, asked me to show him how to make them. Unprecedented.
This was a fantastic recipe, but I did make some small adjustments: Used a pyrex 9 x 9 x 2 in baking dish, so added 7 apples to insure plenty of fruit filling. I substituted brown sugar in the dough. Before baking off the crust, I sprinkled it with white sugar. For the crumble crust, I doubled the cinnamon and cardamon, and added in 1 rounded teaspoon of Allspice. This bakes perfectly and the crumble is so good with the toasted chopped walnuts. A real winner!
These are very good, and I liked them more than apple pie. I don't quite get the reason for squeezing the crumb topping dough into a ball and breaking it off in bits to add to the top later. Just keep it as crumbs and sprinkle on top like a cobbler. I had chilled my crumb dough and the broken pebble pieces didn't "melt" when baked so I had to flatten it with a fork while warm because it looked unappealing as pebbles.
Everything took longer than indicated in the recipe, from browning the base to cooking down the apples. I'd double or treble the amount of apples in this recipe - a written it was mostly dough, which made for a dry result.