Apple Crumble Bars (easier than pie)
This recipe is a great alternative to apple pie. It has a shortbread base with apple slices and a buttery crumb topping. After it's baked, it can be frozen, and most of the components made ahead.
Servings 9 squares
Ingredients
For the shortbread base:
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
For the crumble:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter diced and cold
For the apples:
- 5 cups Granny Smith apples about 5 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- ¼ cup white or brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180°C).
For the shortbread base:
- With a wooden spoon or electric hand mixer on low, cream ½ cup unsalted butter with ¼ cup white sugar until smooth.
- Add a pinch of salt and 1 cup all-purpose flour in two parts, combining well. Do not overmix. It will be crumbly.
- Grease an 8-inch square pan. Line with a strip of parchment paper covering the bottom and two of the sides.
- Press the dough evenly to cover the bottom. Lightly flour the tips of your fingers if needed.
- Prick the bottom crust with a fork and freeze for 30 minutes.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, until it’s dry in parts and starts to color lightly. Reserve on a wire rack.
For the crumble:
- Mix 1 cup all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup white sugar and ⅓ cup light brown sugar in a medium bowl.
- Add ½ cup unsalted butter in pieces and integrate them with a fork, a pastry cutter, or your hands (my choice) until you have a clumpy crumble.
- Keep refrigerated.
For the apples:
- Peel and core 5 medium/large apples.
- Cut in half and then in half again to have 4 wedges. Remove the seeds and hard center parts. Slice with a kitchen knife. You should have about 5 cups Granny Smith apples, sliced. Transfer them to a large bowl.
- Sprinkle ¼ cup white or brown sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon on top and drizzle with 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Stir to coat and transfer to the prepared pan.
- Alternatively, layer the apple slices on the shortbread base, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and drizzle with lemon juice. It's a lot of apples, but they shrink considerably during baking.
To assemble:
- Top the crust with the apple mixture, spreading to cover it all.
- Top the apples with the crumble mixture. It will cover them almost completely. Lightly press with your hand so the topping is a tad compacted.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden and the apples can be easily pierced with a knife.
- Let cool on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature or warm with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
Apples: peel and cut at the last minute to avoid them turning brown as much as you can. Use a mandoline for very thin slices if you like a softer filling, or a kitchen knife to cut thicker ones if you want some crunch.
Make-ahead: both the base and the crumble can be made ahead and frozen for a month or kept in the fridge for a week.
Storing: if not eating the day they are baked, store these apple bars covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Freezing: they can be frozen after being baked, well covered. To eat, let them come to room temperature or warm in a low oven. But I prefer to make the shortbread base and crumble ahead and have them frozen. And then only have the apple layer to make from scratch the day I bake.
