These Apple Pie Bars are a delicious fall treat– a cinnamon oat crust is topped with diced cinnamon apples and a crisp crumble topping. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
We’ve had months of triple-digit weather and I’m definitely ready for fall over here. Fall weather, fall flavors. Anyone with me?
We all know I love pumpkin everything, but apples and cinnamon are definitely some of my favorites too.
I love apple pie but making pie dough from scratch is a bit labor intensive and the store-bought stuff tastes good but isn’t made from the best ingredients.
So, these Apple Pie Bars are a nice solution! They have the flavors of apple pie, but more of a shortbread oat crust that comes together a bit easier than pie dough.
The Apple Pie Bars are delicious on their own but even better served a la mode with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream. They’re a great dessert, but they also make a good breakfast! I mean, oats and fruit– that’s breakfast, right?
How to make Apple Pie Bars
To make the Apple Pie Bars, you’re going to dice some apples. You can use whatever kind you like but I usually use Granny Smith or Honeycrisp, which are both great choices for baking. Check out the best apples for baking if you want to branch out to some other varieties!
Next you’re going to toss the apples with cinnamon, sugar and flour, and a bit of vanilla yogurt! Then set that aside.
For the crust, you’re going to use a food processor to pulse some oats into a fine meal. Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. And then mix in a stick of butter.
Reserve a cup of the mixture for the topping, then add an egg to the rest of it and pulse until combined.
You’ll press the dough mixture into a pan and bake it for 10 minutes. Then layer the apples on top, followed by the crumble topping, and bake for an additional 3o minutes.
Cool in the pan and then transfer to the fridge and chill at least an hour before cutting.
These bars are best stored in an airtight container in the fridge. They are great served cold, or you can heat them in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up. Don’t forget the ice cream!
- for the filling:
- 4 cups diced, peeled apples
- ½ tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 6 oz vanilla yogurt
- for the base and topping:
- ¾ cup old fashioned oats
- 1¼ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup cold butter, cubed
- 1 egg
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare an 8×8 pan by lining with foil or parchment.
- In a large bowl, mix the apples with the sugar, flour, and cinnamon.
- Once evenly coated, add the yogurt and mix to coat all pieces. Set aside.
- In a food processor, blend the oats to a fine meal.
- Add flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon, and pulse to combine.
- Add the butter and pulse until the dough is crumbly.
- Remove 1 cup of the mix, set aside.
- Add egg, and pulse until mixture is just combined.
- Evenly press moist mixture into the baking pan.
- Bake crust for 10 minutes.
- Spoon apple filling evenly over the crust.
- Sprinkle reserved topping mixture over apples. Press down to flatten just slightly.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
- Cool in the pan then transfer to the fridge to chill for at least one hour.
- Remove from pan carefully and slice into 16 squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Yum this sounds delicious! Love the yoghurt in the filling. Great pick for SRC!
What a fabulous SRC pick and such lovely photos too! Karen
Oh those look absolutely FANTASTIC – what a great selection!!
These sound amazing! I’ll be trying them for sure! Awesome pick this month 🙂
These sound and look great!! I recon they’d be perfect with summer stone fruit like peaches instead of apples too ;D Lovely SRC pick
I love apples and have way too many in my fridge right now. Going to have to try this recipe, it looks amazing!
Yum…I have a similar recipe and they are so yummy!!!! Great choice.
Great recipe pick! I had her blog last month, and yours this month!
I can eat apple desserts all year long! Great SRC pick!
That’s perfect for upcoming fall – it’s already cooling down where I live, so I’m saying goodbye to summer LOL.
The tropical pineapple pork kebabs are AMAZING! I made them last month (not for SRC) – so good! 🙂
Happy Reveal Day!
Hello there yumminess!!! I will be definitely be making these bars this Fall when apples are coming out of my ears with abundance! 🙂 Fabulous SRC pick!!
My 6 yr old son is sitting with me as I comment on all the SRC posts and when he saw the picture of your apple pie bars he thought the ice cream were actually marshmallows on the plate 🙂 LOL! He’s been on a marshmallow kick lately…he’s giggling as he reads me typing this 🙂
I love apple anything and will have to save this for when we go apple picking in September. Great SRC pick!
Haha marshmallows!! How cute 🙂
Apple pie bars, now THAT’S a great idea! None of the stress to roll the crust and all that, just the perfect apple pie taste…
love this!
I don’t think I can wait until fall to make these–they look totally yummy!
WOW those look good! They would have won me over too! Great SRC pick!
Glad you enjoyed these!
They have me craving fall right now! I totally need to make them again.
These look amazing, and perfect for the upcoming Fall apple season. Oh, I bet they would be great with peaches too.