These Dutch Apple Pie Bars are drizzled with caramel and make a delicious, easy to make dessert! Perfect for celebrations and potlucks!
Fall is here and with it comes all the delicious fall dishes we love so much! Cozy dishes, loads of pumpkin and squash, and, of course, apples are popping up in all of our dishes these days!
At a recent family celebration, I made these Apple Pie Bars and my family absolutely loved them. Not shocking as apple pie is loved by all! These bars were a lot easier to make, though! And the drizzle of caramel sauce over top makes these even better, in my opinion!
Essentially, this is a simplified dutch apple pie. Its easier to make than a regular dutch apple pie, mostly owing to the fact that both the crust and crumble are made at once! No need to roll out a pie crust either. Sprinkle the dough into the pan and just press down. Easy right?
And because these bars are a little flatter than a typical slice of pie, I feel a little bit better about eating a slice too! It has apples, so its healthy, right? I think so too.
How to make Apple Pie Bars
As mentioned earlier, these bars are easy to make and take much less time to prep and bake than a typical pie! Yup, you’ve come to the right place!
This recipe makes a 9×9 pan. Depending on the size of your bars, you can get between 9-12 servings (9 for a dessert size portion for dinner parties or make them smaller for a potluck style buffet table that features lots of desserts). You can easily double the recipe and make these in a larger pan if needed.
To make a 9×9 pan of these apple pie bars, you will need:
For the crust and crumble:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the apple pie layer:
- 2 apples, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Additional toppings:
- caramel sauce, for drizzling
Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper.
In a food processor, pulse the crust ingredients together to form a crumbly mixture. Transfer 2/3 of the mixture to the baking dish and press down to form the crust.
In a mixing bowl, mix the apple pie ingredients together and sprinkle the mixture over the crust layer.
Sprinkle the remaining crust/crumble mixture over the apple layer.
Bake the bars for 25 minutes or until the filling has set and the crust and crumble have turned a nice golden brown. Let them cool in the pan completely. Once cooled, slice the bars and place in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
When serving, drizzle with caramel sauce.
That’s it! I hope you enjoy these bars and wow your guests!
-Cathy
You may also like:
Carrot Cake
Ruffled Milk Pie (Greek Patsavouropita)
Apple Pie Bars
Ingredients
For the crust and crumble
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup butter cold, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the apple pie layer:
- 2 apples peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Additional toppings:
- caramel sauce, for drizzling optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, pulse the crust ingredients together to form a crumbly mixture. If it doesn’t come together, add a tablespoon of water (or as much as needed). Transfer 2/3 of the mixture to the baking dish and press down to form the crust.
- In a mixing bowl, mix the apple pie ingredients together and sprinkle the mixture over the crust layer.
- Sprinkle the remaining crust/crumble mixture over the apple layer.
- Bake the bars for 25-30 minutes or until the filling has set and the crust and crumble have turned a nice golden brown. Let them cool in the pan completely. Once cooled, slice the bars and place in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
- When serving, drizzle with caramel sauce.
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
