apple pie crumb bars.

Apple picking means apple pie – apple pie crumb bars that is!

I was thinking like a combination of apple pie and crumb cake – who doesn’t love CRUMB CAKE?! Cut yourself a piece, warm it up and top with vanilla ice cream. Because that’s the only way to eat one of these bars – YUM!

Recipe:

for the crust:

• 1 & 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 stick butter, very cold & cubed
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup ice water

for the filling:

• 4-5 medium size apples – I used gala! you can use any good baking apple!
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons apple pie spice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the crumb topping:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions:

for the crust:

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. in a food processor, combine flour, brown sugar, salt and butter.
3. pulse until mixture becomes pea-sized crumbs.
4. gradually add ice water until dough comes together.
5. in a greased 9×13 baking dish, press dough evenly (about 1/2 inch thick) on the bottom of the dish.
6. refrigerate while you prepare apples!

for the filling:

1. thinly slice apples – I left the skin on, but you can peel if that’s your preference!
2. place apple slices in a bowl and add flour, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and apple pie spice.
3. mix until apples are coated evenly.
4. layer apples evenly on top of the crust in the baking dish.

for the crumble topping:

1. in a medium size bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, vanilla and melted butter.
2. mix with a fork until crumbles form (pea-sized)
3. evenly top apples with the crumble

time to bake!

• cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
• take the foil off and bake for another 20 minutes.
• insert knife or toothpick to make sure apples are soft and tender.
• let cool before slicing!
• serve with vanilla ice cream 🙂