These Dutch Apple Pie Bars combine your favorite flavors of Dutch apple pie but in an easy bar recipe! Complete with a homemade pastry crust, softened cinnamon-spiced apples and an irresistible Dutch crumb topping!
Fall is officially here and I couldn’t be more excited! Bring on the pumpkin patch, sweaters, and ALL the apple-y recipes!
I am definitely more on Team Apple than Team Pumpkin, and after taste-testing these bars, that idea was basically cemented in stone and then encased in steel. These bars are extremely delicious – I would even venture to say addictive. In fact, over the course of a few days, I basically ate the entire pan myself!
Dutch Apple Pie Bars
These Dutch Apple Pie Bars have a few components to them to make these truly the best. Those components are:
- The Crust: the crust consists of a homemade pastry crust made of simply pantry ingredients like flour, salt, an egg yolk, butter, and milk. You’ll pulse it together in a food processor until it resembles a ball of dough, then refrigerate it while you prepare the filling.
- The Apple Pie Filling: this is obviously made of – you guessed it – apples! I like to use a mixture of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp because I love the flavors of the two of them together. However, you can use one or the other if you don’t want to use a combination. In addition to diced, peeled apples, we’re going to coat them with light brown sugar and granulated sugar, some flour (to thicken the coating), spices, and a little vanilla extract for flavor.
- The Dutch Crumble: of course, for a Dutch apple pie bar, it needs to have that signature Dutch crumble topping! This will be made from the usual ingredient suspects, including butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Super simple, and yields a buttery, soft crumble topping.
Everything comes together pretty quickly, and once the components are ready, you’ll assemble the bars!
First goes the pastry crust in a lined pan (I like lining with parchment) whereupon you’ll pre-bake the bottom crust. This just gives it a little added insurance that it is done and can better support the heavier filling and topping.
Once it has pre-baked slightly, you’ll add your filling and topping. Pile it on HIGH and thick, because every self-respecting apple pie has a thick filling!
Bake it up, and let it cool before slicing into bars!
These Dutch Apple Pie Bars are seriously DIVINE! Filled with gooey, spiced apples, a buttery Dutch crumble topping and the most amazing pastry crust, you’re going to LOVE these easy bars!
Dutch Apple Pie Bars
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed
FOR THE APPLE FILLING:
- 4 cups apples, peeled and diced (about 4 medium - I used a mixture of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
FOR THE DUTCH CRUMB:
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line an 8" square light metal baking pan with parchment paper or foil, extending the sides of the parchment or foil over the edges of the pan. Spray the foil or paper lightly with cooking spray; set aside.
- First, make your pastry crust. In a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt until mixed. Add in the egg yolk, cubed butter and milk and pulse until a soft dough comes together into a ball shape. Roll the dough ball in a piece of plastic wrap and briefly refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
- Toss the diced, peeled apples together with the sugars, flour, spices and vanilla until fully coated. Set aside. For the Dutch crumble, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt until crumbly. Set aside.
- Unroll your pie dough in an 8" square shape. Place it evenly into the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until slightly puffed. Remove from oven, but keep oven on. Top the crust with the apples in an even layer, as well as any juices from the apple bowl, followed by the Dutch crumble crumbled evenly over the top.
- Return to the oven and bake for an additional 40-45 minutes or until light golden brown on the top and appears set. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars.
I know you’re going to LOVE these! They’re surely going to be in my autumn recipe rotation!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
Pamela S Mattingly says
I cannot wait to try this recipe
Carrie Sievert says
I would like to make these bars in a 13×9. How could I change the recipe to make this successful?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Garrie, I would double the recipe!
Peg says
Can you use refrigerated pie crust?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Peg, yes you could definitely use that instead!
Cathy says
Can this be made with gluten free flour?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Cathy! I would try using a GF cup-for-cup flour to replace!
Loretta says
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to try them!
Jacqueline Bishop says
I must make this for Thanksgiving!
Question , can almond flour replace the all-purpose flour?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Jacqueline! I have not tried using almond flour, and since almond flour and AP flour are not an equal cup-for-cup swap, I would recommend using the GF cup-for-cup to sub instead.
Nicki says
These are definitely on the fall menu now! My son will love these as an alternative to pie for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Comfort food at it’s finest. This will pair perfectly with a lil scoop of French vanilla ice cream too!
Also, I noticed that signing up for the newsletter doesn’t work; Is that able to be fixed? Really interested in your cookbooks – buy on Amazon or shall you suggest a better place?
Cheers!
Nicki
Doug says
I had to double the pastry recipe as it was not enough dough to make a significant crust. The crumble was very liquidy, maybe too much butter? Added pecans. Also found it salty
Rose says
This looks delicious. Could you convert this recipe for me to using gluten-free almond flour? Thank you.
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Rose! Unfortunately, I do not bake with flour alternatives so I cannot say with a guarantee how this would work with GF almond flour. It should work just fine with a cup-for-cup GF flour blend though.
Haley says
I made these after apple picking this year and they were a hit. I would definitely double the recipe next time and make them in a 13×9.
Robin says
It says to use a metal pan. Can I use a glass pan?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Robin, you can use a glass pan, but it may take longer to bake since glass doesn’t conduct heat as well as metal does.