Easy Dutch Crumble Apple Pie Bars
These Dutch apple bars feature a comforting buttery, brown sugar crunchy, crumble topping, freshly baked apples seasoned with warm cinnamon sugar spice and it's baked atop a delicious shortbread crust. These sweet apple delights are definitely scrumptious and so much easier to make than your normal home-made apple pie. OMGoodness yumminess!
Servings: 9 Servings
Calories:
Ingredients
SHORTBREAD CRUST
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
DUTCH APPLE FILLING
- 3 large Granny Smith apples peeled, cored, and thinly sliced or small julienne style (3 ½ - 4 cups) (can use honeycrisp or any firm type apple)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
CRUMBLE TOPPING
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons butter chilled butter, cut into cubes
- ¼ tsp salt
- Optional: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray, line with parchment for easy removal.
SHORTBREAD CRUST
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy for 2-3 minutes.
- Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add flour and mix until combined and dough is crumbly.
- Press dough evenly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until dough is slightly puffed. Remove from oven and set aside to prepare to add the Dutch Apple Filling.
DUTCH APPLE FILLING
- Meanwhile, while the crust is baking, in a large bowl, combine the apple filling ingredients: toss apples with cinnamon, nutmeg, flour and sugar until evenly coated, set aside.
CRUMBLE TOPPING
- In a medium bowl, using a pastry cutter, combine brown sugar, flour, salt and butter together and mix until crumbly; set aside. Add cinnamon for an extra boost of cinnamon if you wish! Can also use food processor for quicker results.
ASSEMBLE THE BARS
- Maintain oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Place apple mixture in an even layer over baked crust.
- Sprinkle with crumble topping.
- Bake 40-45 minutes until golden brown.
- Let cool 2 hours then refrigerate 2 hours. Serve or store in an airtight container.
Notes
Serve as is or with some vanilla glaze, caramel sauce or pair it with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream with the apple bar warmed up in the microwave for an incredibly, sinful experience! This dessert screams FALL! ????