Apple Crisp Bars Recipe (2024)

This is similar to the apple streusel pie I make, but simpler with the shortbread base. I doubled the recipe and was worried it might bubble over in an 8×12 pan so also used an 8×8 pan. The base and topping were just the right amount but next time I’ll use more apples. I also halved the salt and didn’t miss it. Thanks for an excellent recipe!

My in laws brought us a bunch of apples from the orchard by their cabin and my husband want some sort of apple crisp. This recipe was perfect I did only use 1/8 of a cup of granulated sugar for the topping. It’s perfect.

I have tried countless recipes and am very hard to please along with a picky bunch of family. These are amazing! You can serve them as a casual cookie bar or step it up to a full blown dessert served warm with vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of caramel sauce and whipped cream. This one is a keeper!!

These look so divine! I love the crumble topping and the texture it gives to these bars!

Apple and crumble make the best combination! Looks so easy. Can’t wait to try it with ice cream!

Apple crisp as a bar? What a wonderful idea. The perfect treat for fall!

It’s that time of the year, huh?! I wish there was a way to make apple bars a year in advance so that there are always a few on the table until the next season. Great recipe.

This dessert is a crowd pleaser for sure! And the crumb topping… don’t even get me started on how good it is!

Brought these to a dinner party and they were all gone in a few mins! Everyone loved them so much.

I made your Easy Apple Crisp Bar for ny Bible Study group & they absolutely loved it. Now everyone inmy group is expecting to have one for Christmas.

These were absolutely delicious and easy to make! You can’t go wrong with butter, sugar and apples 😄

Hi!

I made this for a neighborhood gathering. It is their favorite desert now! The crisp topping is the best I have had yet. Love this recipe! I used a mix of apples, red delicious, Fuji and granny smith. Was a great blend.

These are soooo good! My whole family loves them. Thank you so much for the recipe! 💕

These just came out of the oven and they are fantastic! Thank you for such an easy and delicious recipe!

These were delicious especially warm.. I love the shortbread crust. I will definitely make these again and will double the recipe for a 9×13 pan to take to family gatherings.

Thank you, thank you for posting this recipe! I made these the other night and made it just a little easier… I had frozen some peeled, sliced apples this fall and it wasn’t quite enough for a pie and wanted something different when I found your recipe. I also didn’t want to do the shortbread crust (however, I will try that next time!). I had just bought Girl Scout Shortbread (Trefoils) cookies, so I popped a box of those in the food processor then added a stick of melted butter. Par-baked that as in the recipe. Drained my thawed apples, which still had a bit of liquid so I added 3 Tbs flour instead of 2. I did not make any changes to your crumble topping ingredients but with no pastry cutter, I used a baker’s next best kitchen tool — clean hands LOL everyone loved it!! Can’t wait to try my hand at your shortbread crust next time!

So easy and so delicious. My family and friends love it when I bake this 👍❣️

Great recipe! Everyone loved it and wanted the recipe.

These were a big hit at the event that I brought them to today. There wasn’t a crumb left. So many compliments. Thanks for sharing this great recipe.

Hi Haley,

Thanks for giving recipe ingredients in weight as well as volume – I always evaluate a new recipe on whether weight is indicated – for me at least a much better way to measure ingredients.

And yes am making apple bars today and I know in advance. this is a good recipe and will taste great.

ps – wifey dearest is a natural blonde too – so I get your title!

Thanks again!

Paul

These are amazing! So easy too. I used sweeter apples as I had them on hand, and then just reduced some of the sugar in the filling a bit. They still turned out great!

Super delicious and easy to make, what else can you ask for?! This will go in my recipe box!

Best apple bar recipe I have ever tried. Everybody loves it, I have made this several times already, all with apples from my yard. Love the fact that there are no oats in the crisp topping.

So good!!

I work in an office and we have tons of fresh fruit. We had some apples that needed to be eaten so, to Pinterest I went! I found this recipe and it sounded incredible. I read through all the reviews and decided this was what I was going to make. They just came out of the oven and oh my goodness! Now, I am not one for apple desserts. I am a chocolate girl… but these. Wow!! So well balanced, so delicious. I have already sent the recipe to my baking friends and I will absolutely be making this again and again! Notes: since these were for staff, I had a few more mouths to feed; I did double the recipe, used a 9×13 pan, which worked perfectly. I did add about 5 more minutes to cooking time. I did also cube the apples, but that’s just a texture thing for me. I wish I could give this more stars! Thank you for the share!

I make dessert for my Bible study every week and I am always looking for new ideas. Your apple crisp bars are truly amazing. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe. These bars are going to be one of my new favorites.😊

These were a bit too sweet for my taste, and I even cut the sugar in the apples and the crumb topping. I would make again with a bit more apple (500g was not enough for me) and maybe cut the amount of crumb topping. I do love the shortbread crust.

These were so good!!!! Batch 2 coming right up 😋
Thank u for the recipe!

Soooo good this is a keeper!

I’m not a huge fan of apple desserts, but we had a ton of apples from our tree and so I made these apple crisp bars. Holy moly they were good. Topped with some vanilla ice cream and whipped cream and I cannot stop eating them. Thank you for sharing.

Easy to make, simple ingredients in the pantry, delicious!

Delicious! I added 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp allspice and 1/4 tsp nutmeg to the apple mixture. Nice way to use up old apples!

These are smelling very tasty! Can’t wait until they cool down.
Berni

These are absolutely amazing! Apple crisp is our families favorite dessert and this just totally elevated it!! AND it’s now portable. Delicious! I baked in 9×13 dish and made 1.5 times the recipe, baked it for about 55min and it worked out perfectly! Definitely reco these! Thnx for the awesome recipe

I wrote a lengthy review and forgot to rate these delicious apple crisp bars. Needless to say I gave them 5 stars!! Thanks again

I don’t normally write a review but these are delicious. I served them to company before I tried them. Everyone love them. When I asked for comments if tis recipe was a keeper, Dave responded “I’ve only had 3 so I will have to try another before my comment”. LOL

I made these today and they are the perfect balance of chewy, gooey, and crunchy. I love the crust and the crumble topping. I added a little cinnamon to the apple filling because we loveeee cinnamon. A mix of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples was the way to go. Turned out perfect!

Hey Haley, awesome recipe! I was looking for a recipe for my husband and his buddy for a hunting trip and after looking at many pins, yours stood out. I’m so glad I doubled the recipe so we have ours at home because it was delicious! Perfect as is, I wouldn’t change a thing. Oh, I used a mix of Granny Smith, Honeycrisp and Macintosh. I saw the tip you wrote after about the Macintosh turning soft. I guess I would change a thing, I’d leave them out. Still good, thanks!!

Wow this is just such an amazing recipe! Made it so many times and it always gets eaten up gladly 😁
I like to spread blackberry jam over the apples as well to give it an extra bit of acidity but it would still be amazing without!
I cannot recommend this recipe highly enough.

I made the apple bars yesterday, they couldn’t wait so they dished it out like it was a crisp. Today they were firm like the recipe says. Flavor was moist and delicious. I’ve added these to my monthly recipes.

These bars were delicious and gone very quickly at a neighborhood picnic! Many also asked for the recipe. I used two Granny Smith & two Honey Crisp apples and mixed everything by hand.

Made this for my bookclub meeting. It has turned out bubbly and looks delicious. Going to let the flavours seep together for 24 hours before I cut it. A great dessert bar for every season.

Wow! Coming from an apple crisp lover, these bars are amazing. The only change that I made was adding a tsp of fresh squeezed lemon juice to the apples after cutting, and before adding the sugar/flour mix. I like a little extra zing to the apples 🙂

I made these I used the recipe but I added a bit of lemon juice and cinnamon to the apples.
My husband said he likes these better than apple pie. I also used my mandolin to slice the apples nice and thin.
These will be a staple in our family for years to come. My children can’t wait to try them. All they have seen is pictures.

These bars are the best apple anything we’ve ever eaten. super easy to make. i added a pinch of ginger and nutmeg to the apple mixture which went right in to the same bowl as the crust. important to let them cool before cutting. absolutely delicious with vanilla caramel ice cream.

SO GOOD!! My house smells wonderful and the bars are delicious. Easy recipe to follow as well. I know I will be making these again and look forward to checking out your other recipes! Now it officially feels like fall.

I’ve made this recipe every Fall for the last few years. My family loves them. They are very simple to make

Can this recipe be doubled for a 13×9 baking pan? It does look delicious. Thanks for sharing..

THESE ARE DELICIOUS! I made them last night and I’m having a hard time not eating the entire pan! Can’t wait to make these for Thanksgiving!

Looks delicious

Ratio is off for a 8×8 pan. Pan was way too full and too much topping so that it didn’t cook all the way in 45mins. Pan was so full I made an additional crust in a smaller dish for the extra apples and crumble

They’re like apple pie in bar form, which means all the flavor and deliciousness without the fuss of baking a pie crust (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). These bars were super easy to make. The shortbread dough came together quickly and while it baked, I sliced the apples. I’d recommend using a mandoline on the thin setting if you have one because you get uniformly thin slices, which work great in this recipe. A winner!

I’ve been returning to this recipe every Thanksgiving since 2019. It is PHENOMENAL, completely blew my family members away! The first year I made it, they made it clear this needs to be a new tradition. 5/5 isn’t enough stars!!!

I’ve made this a few times and it’s always a hit! I was wondering how it would turn out if I add pears or cranberries for a Holiday dessert?

Love these bars! I was hoping to make these for one of our Christmas Day desserts, but I have a question. Is it possible to make these ahead but not bake them until the day of? Have you ever tried this and found the best way to do it? For example, could I assemble the entire dessert and freeze it and then on the day that I want to bake it just put it in the oven from frozen to heat up until it’s bubbly and warm? I realize it would take longer to bake if I did this method, but I was just wondering if you’ve ever tried it and knew if it worked!

I’ve made these numerous times and I can never make enough! I use gluten free (1-1 replacement). One time my husband wanted oats so swapped 1/2 the flour for oats on the topping and it was yummy too. Can’t go wrong with this recipe! It’s my go to recipe for many occasions now. I add nutmeg and extra cinnamon too.

I made this recipe this week to use up apples that were being neglected. This is an excellent recipe. I made exactly as written although I didn’t measure/weigh the apples. I just cut up all I had, it may have been slightly more than the recipe. I had to bake for about 30 minutes longer than the recipe but ovens vary. Crust was beautiful brown and crisp, apples and topping just right. I will definitely make this again.

Very Good!! I think the topping is a little sweet and could be halved otherwise delicious!

My kids, who are very vocal about their apple desserts, loved these! I added some cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg to the filling, to give the middle a little more definition. And it made a recipe card, so that says a lot about this yummy treat. Thanks so much!!!!