Apple Pie Bar

I had some apples I wanted to use up -they were not crisp enough for me.  I found out that they taste quite more delicious when you add butter, sugar, and cinnamon to them!

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)

Apple Filling:

• 4 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced (about 6 cups?)
• 4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 Tablespoons granulated or brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground clove

Streusel:

• 1 cup (80g) old-fashioned oats (or quick cooking)
• 2/3 cup (140g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (60g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Line the bottom and long sides of an 9 x 13" square baking pan with parchment paper.
   
   
3. Make the crust:
   Stir the melted butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt together in a medium bowl.
4. Mix in the flour, stirring until everything is well combined.
5. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from oven and then preheat to 350°F.
   
   
7. Make the apple filling:
   Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves together in a large bowl. Add in the apples, stirring, until all of the apples are evenly coated.
   
   
8. Make the streusel:
   Stir the oats, sugar, cinnamon, and flour together in a medium bowl.
9. Cut in the chilled butter with a pastry blender, mixing until the topping resembles coarse crumbs.
   
   
10. Build the bars:
    Layer the apples evenly over the warm crust, pressing them down to fit.
    
11. Sprinkle the apple layer with streusel.
    
    
12. Baking and cutting:
    Bake for 45–55 minutes or until the streusel is golden brown.
13. Remove bars from the oven, and cool for at least 20 minutes at room temperature.
14. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
15. Use the parchment paper to lift bars out of the pan.
16. Cut into 24 or 30 bars.

 

Carole's Notes:

We liked these! Doug says you can really taste the butter in the crust. We shared these with his bell group - they were  only lower carb because we got to eat fewer of them!

The recipe is lightly adapted from https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/salted-caramel-apple-pie-bars/