Lots of apples, lots of cinnamon and lots of streusel topping are the highlights of these delicious apple streusel bars! These make a great snack or warm and serve with ice cream for a lovely dessert.
Why you’ll love these apple streusel bars!
- These apple bars are great to enjoy as a snack or enjoy warm as a dessert, maybe with a scoop of ice cream on top.
- These bars keep well in the fridge and also freeze well.
- I enjoy these chilled, at room temperature or slightly warmed.
- These apple bars have a generous sprinkling of cinnamon, for warmth and are chock full of apples – 5 cups worth! The crust-to-fruit ratio is perfect!
Best apples to use for these apple bars
Baking apples – the best apples are those that will hold their shape after baking, so Granny Smith, Braeburn, Cortland, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious or Northern Spy would all be good choices. If you love your apple bakes to have layers of tender-crisp apples, it’s hard to beat Granny Smith.
Beyond the texture of the apple, consider the sweetness. If you generally prefer less sweetness, go for the tart Granny Smith, Braeburn or Cortland. For sweeter apples, Honeycrisp or Golden Delicious are great options.
Use a variety of apples – there is no rule that you only need to use one kind of apple. I love to use a variety! For these bars, I used a combination of Golden Delicious and Granny Smith and it was fabulous.
Step-by-Step Photos
- For ease of removal, line a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Add the cold butter pieces and cut in with a pastry cutter (or two knives).
- Add the egg and stir in.
- Add about 2 cups of the flour crumb mixture to the prepared pan and press into an even layer.
- Scatter the prepared apples over top.
- Top with remaining flour crumb mixture.
- Bake and enjoy!
Making ahead storing and freezing
You can easily make these ahead and refrigerate or freeze. I store these cut in the refrigerator, where they will keep for several days. They will freeze for up to 3 months.
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Ingredients
Streusel:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, reduce to 1/8 teaspoon if using salted butter
- 1 cup butter, cold, salted or unsalted and cut into pieces
- 1 large egg, beaten
Apple filling:
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, you can use a bit more if you are a cinnamon lover
- Pinch nutmeg
- 5 cups baking apples, peeled and sliced (about 4 medium) *see Note 1 for good apple options
Optional Glaze:
- 1 cup icing/confectioners’ sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (regular bake/not fan-assisted). Reduce oven temperature to 325F if using a glass pan. Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Prepare the streusel:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the cold butter pieces to the flour mixture and cut in with a pastry cutter or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbs. Gently mix in the beaten egg.
- Scoop about 2 cups of the crumb mixture and add the prepared baking pan. Gently press into an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
Prepare the apple filling:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Add the apples and toss until well coated. Spread apples out on prepared crust in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture evenly over the apples.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely in the pan. If making ahead, cover tightly and refrigerate.
Optional glaze:
- If you'd like to add the glaze, whisk together icing/confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla, until you have a thin enough glaze to drip off the end of a spoon. Drizzle over the cooled bars. Drizzle glaze over cooled pastry and allow to set before cutting (refrigerating will speed up the setting and make these easier to cut).
Notes
More Apple Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Could I use brown sugar in the streusel instead of white sugar? I enjoy the added flavor that brown sugar gives to streusel.
Hi Deb, I haven’t tried it myself, but it should technically work. Keep in mind that the same mixture is used for the base as the streusel and brown sugar might make both softer in structure.
Jennifer,
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly! I might even try half white and half brown sugar 😊
Jennifer, you are my culinary crush. This recipe was fantastic!
Lol! Thanks Bill :) So glad you enjoyed these!
Great easy recipe! I used an 8×8 pan and it came out delicious.
So glad to hear, Carly :) Thanks so much!
Fabulous! I used all local honeycrisp as that’s what I had and only 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Thank you for a wonderfully easy fall dessert recipe.
So glad you enjoyed these, Cheryl :) Thanks so much!
This recipe looks wonderful but I am questioning the size of the baking pan in the recipe. Can you confirm it is a 9X9 pan that’s needed?
Hi Jean and yes, it’s a 9×9-inch square baking pan. It makes a nice thick bar :)