Crusty's Apple Pie Bars

Like apple pie but easier (and tastier)

Every online recipe I’ve ever read begins with some preface about their childhood, an obscure hardship, or a shout out to their mother. So, am I supposed to yap before I get into this recipe? It feels par for the course. Here’s my silly little take.

I had a potluck last week and I wanted to flex all over my friends. This recipe is one that makes me salivate just thinking about it. It’s like your grandma is giving you a hug during the holidays. They taste like fall. Those first days of a brisk breeze. The first college football slate on a Saturday. The yearning for a pumpkin patch photo shoot.

What makes this recipe so special is that there are layers to the flavors. Each of the three main components develop deep and rich flavors on their own. When combined, it’s like a blood sugar spiking symphony. If loving apple pie bars is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

Ingredients

“Pie” Crust

12 tbsp unsalted butter (softened)

120g brown sugar

225g AP flour

1 tsp kosher salt

Apple filling

900g apples diced (8-ish apples)

3 tbsp lemon juice (1-2 lemons)

3 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp clove

225g sugar

Topping

90g AP flour

75g brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

6 tbsp unsalted butter (cold and cubed)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325

2. Line a 9X13 with parchment, greasing above and below the parchment

3. Make the crust

   1. Beat butter, sugar, and cinnamon until creamed.

   2. Add flour and salt until incorporated. You should be able to squeeze it in your hand, and it will hold together.

   3. Crumble into the parchment lined pan and press until it is evenly distributed. No need to press it against the walls, just the bottom.

   4. Bake crust for 20-25 mins, until golden brown.

4. Make the Apple Filling

   1. While the crust bakes, wash and dice apples, removing the cores, into small pieces. How small here subjective. I like mine CHOKNY so I will leave them a bit larger.

   2. Add butter on medium low heat to a pan and add apples. Allow to cook for 5-10 mins until softened.

   3. Add sugar on top and combine. This will pull tons of liquid from the apples. Continue to stir until most of the liquid cooks off. At this point the apples should be thoroughly brown and caramelized.

5. Allow crust and apples to cool (just to where they won’t burn you) and add apples to pan. Spread out evenly using rubber scraper.

6. Make the topping

   1. Dice your COLD butter into small pieces. Add flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Squeeze and work the dry ingredients into the butter using your hands. This is similar to making biscuits. By the end, it should have the consistency of wet sand.

7. Sprinkle topping evenly to top of bars.

8. Bake bars for 35-45 minutes until top is golden brown.

9. Cool on wire rack in pan. Once handleable, use parchment to remove bars from pan and allow to cool further on wire rack.

10. Slice and eat every single bar by yourself in your kitchen before anyone else can have one