Delicious Apple Pie Bars – Thanksgiving Dessert

We love apple pie more than anything in the fall, but we don’t always want to fuss with a whole pie. When you need to make apple pie for a big group, these bars are absolutely perfect. With a no-fuss crust that you press (not roll), they’re much easier. Plus, you can’t beat that crumb topping. Drizzle them with some extra caramel or serve with ice cream for an extra special treat! We love these baked with honeycrisp, Granny Smith apples, or a combo of both!

 

Delicious Apple Pie Bars

Ingredients:

FOR THE CRUST

• Cooking spray
• 1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

FOR THE FILLING

• 6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

FOR THE TOPPING

• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 c. chopped pecans
• 1 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted
• Caramel, for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° and line a 9”-x-13” pan with parchment then grease with cooking spray. In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add flour and salt and mix until just combined.

Press into prepared pan about 1/2” up sides. Bake until lightly golden, 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, toss apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt together. Spread apples over crust.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pecans, brown sugar, and salt. Stir in melted butter until coarse clumps form.

Sprinkle crumb topping over apples and bake until top is golden and apples are soft, about 1 hour.

Let cool at least 15 minutes then slice into squares and drizzle with caramel before serving.

 

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