Apple Pie Bars – A Couple Cooks

This apple pie bars recipe is easy and full of cozy flavor, with a spiced fruit filling, streusel topping, and tasty maple glaze!

Looking for an easy dessert that will have everyone talking? Try this apple pie bars recipe! It’s simple to whip up this handheld treat: the same dough makes a sturdy bottom crust and buttery crumbles of streusel topping! Sandwiched in between the layers is a cinnamon-spiced apple filling, and it’s topped with a sweet maple icing drizzle that tastes a bit like melty vanilla ice cream. These are absolutely fabulous and one of our favorite fall desserts yet.

What you need for apple pie bars

These apple pie bars are and easy dessert for several reasons: there’s no special equipment required, the peeling and slicing time is minimal, and the same dough makes the crust and crumble topping. It bakes up in a square pan, making 16 servings delightful handheld apple pie slices. Bars are great for holidays and pitch ins because they’re both easy to serve and make: and we’d make these any day of the year!

Here’s what you’ll need for this recipe, grouped by type:

• Baking ingredients: All purpose flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, Old Fashioned rolled oats, cornstarch, kosher salt
• Spices: Cinnamon and nutmeg
• Dairy: Unsalted butter
• Fruits: Apples, lemon juice
• Baking pan: 8 x 8 inch [20 cm] or 9 x 9 inch [22 cm]
• Time: 25 minutes to prep, 1 hour to bake, 1 ½ to 2 hours to cool, 10 minutes to cut and glaze

Best type of apples for cookies

The best variety of fruit for apple pie bars is the same as any baked apple recipe (like cobbler, cookies, or crisp): select a firm, crisp tart apple. The tartness accents the sweet crust and topping, and the crisp texture helps it hold its shape while baking. Other apple varieties can end up in a mushy filling that’s not nearly as satisfying. Here are some of the best types apples for baking and cooking:

• Pink Lady
• Jonathon or Jonagold
• Granny Smith
• Honeycrisp

Tips for apple pie bars

Apple pie bars are almost like an apple crumble with a bottom crust. They’re simple to make, but just a few tips to know the process.

• Grease the pan, then line it with parchment paper. This makes them easy to remove from the pan. Cut the parchment so that it extends on two sides to easily remove it from the pan. Greasing the entire pan helps the parchment stick to the bottom.
• Allow the bars to cool to room temperature before glazing. This lets the texture set, firming it up so it’s the ideal texture for eating. If you’d like to speed up the process, you can cool for about 30 minutes at room temperature then refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Cut into squares before glazing. We like cutting into 16 even squares first, then glazing the individual bars.

For the maple glaze

The best part of these apple pie bars, in our opinion, is the simple maple glaze! It tastes almost like that melty vanilla ice cream on the top of the pie. You can leave it out if desired, but we think it really takes these bars over the top.

The maple glaze has just a few ingredients and comes together quickly: just powdered sugar, butter, milk, maple syrup, and maple extract. The maple extract brings a bold, maple-forward flavor to the icing and we recommend finding it if at all possible! But you can leave it out if desired: it still tastes great.

Dietary swaps

A few simple swaps make these into vegan apple pie bars! Simply use vegan butter or refined coconut oil in place of butter. Do the same in the maple glaze, and use oat milk or your favorite non-dairy milk for the milk.

To make gluten-free apple pie bars, use almond flour in place of all-purpose flour. The texture will be slightly different, but it’s still delicious! Almond flour works well to make gluten-free crisps and crumbles, like this Gluten Free Apple Crisp.

Storage info

Storage for apple pie bars is tricky because of the moisture in the apples and the glaze. They last for 1 day at room temperature if iced and 2 days if unfrosted, loosely covered (or place a paper towel instead a container to reduce moisture). But it’s best to store them refrigerated if possible. Make sure to store them with parchment paper between each layer so they don’t stick to each other. These apple bars last:

• 1 day at room temperature, loosely covered or with a paper towel inside the container to reduce moisture; 2 days if unfrosted
• 1 week refrigerated, bringing them to room temperature before serving
• 3 months frozen

More apple recipes

And that’s it! These apple bars are one of our favorite easy dessert recipes to make with this crisp tart fruit. They’re perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, fall, or anytime you need a simple treat. Here are a few more tasty apple recipes we love, from desserts to breakfast: