Apple Pie Bars
Keep this in mind before you go pumpkin-crazy – September is about apples, too! These Apple Pie Bars embrace all that is great about this time of year – warm cinnamon (thanks to Member’s Mark™ Ground Cinnamon), tart apples, and a buttery, crumbly crust. Plus, making this treat in bar form is so much easier (but just as delicious) as a pie!
Want to Make Homemade Apple Pie Filling? Try This!
This recipe uses canned apple pie filling, but you can also make yours from scratch. Here’s how:
Homemade Apple Pie Filling for Apple Pie Bars
Ingredients
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5–6 medium apples (about 2½–3 lb), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
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⅓ cup brown sugar
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¼ cup granulated sugar
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2 tbsp all-purpose flour or 1½ tbsp cornstarch
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1 tsp cinnamon
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¼ tsp nutmeg
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¼ tsp salt
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1 tbsp lemon juice
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1 tsp vanilla extract
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2 tbsp butter
Instructions
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Prepare the apples
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Peel, core, and slice the apples about ⅛–¼ inch thick.
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Good choices include Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, or a combination.
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Make the filling
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In a large bowl, toss the apples with the brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and lemon juice.
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Let them sit for about 10 minutes so the sugar can draw out some moisture.
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Cook it down
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Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
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Add the apple mixture and cook for 6–10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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The apples should soften slightly but still have some bite.
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The juices should become noticeably thick and syrupy.
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Finish
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Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
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Let the filling cool for 10–15 minutes before putting it onto your crust.
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For apple pie bars specifically
Don’t skip the cooking step. Raw apples release a lot of juice while baking, which can make the bottom crust soggy and the bars difficult to slice.
For an especially thick, bakery-style filling, use cornstarch instead of flour and cook until the juices are visibly glossy and thick. You can also chop about ¼ of the apples into smaller pieces so the filling holds together nicely when you cut the bars.
Apple Pie Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust and Topping
- ⅔ cup Brown sugar
- ⅔ cup Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening melted
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1⅔ cup All-purpose flour
- ½ cup Rolled oats
- ½ tsp Clabber Girl® Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Member's Mark™ Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp Ground allspice
- ½ tsp Salt
For the Filling
- 1 21 oz can Apple pie filling
- ½ tsp Member's Mark™ Ground Cinnamon
- 2 tsp Lemon juice
- ⅓ cup Walnuts chopped
- Powdered sugar optional
- Caramel sauce optional
Instructions
For the Crust and Topping
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8×8-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, melted shortening, vanilla extract, and lemon juice until well-blended and creamy.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the shortening mixture and stir until you have a dough that will hold together.
- Press two-thirds of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
For the Filling
- In the bowl used for the flour mixture, combine the apple pie filling, cinnamon and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
- When the crust has cooled, pour the apple pie filling on top of the crust. Take the remaining one-third of the dough and crumble it over the top of the pie filling.
- Sprinkle the top with 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts. Bake for 24 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool before cutting. Dust tops with powdered sugar and/or drizzle with caramel sauce, if desired.
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
