Oh, haiyyy! I’m gonna need a minute to lick the yummay icing on these apple pie bars off my face. Did I say lick? I mean wipe. Wipe the icing off my face. … Or maybe that was just a decoy so that I could grab another piece. I’m in my happy place, can you tell? Millions of endorphins are running amuck in my brain. Who doesn’t love a good sugar high? These bars with the buttery crust topped with cinnamon and vanilla spiced apple chunks covered with another layer of crust(!!) and drizzled with a slightly sweet and tangy icing that complements the apples ohhh, so well. This so distractingly good! These apple pie bars are a cinch to make. Warning: This is a lengthy post. I just wanted to make sure that I explained and photographed every step of the way so that it’s easy for you to do at home! Let’s get started! We’re starting with the crust. A little butter, flour, sugar, salt, an egg yolk, and some buttermilk. Nothing makes good dessert like buttermilk. I especially love the shaggy, flakey texture of a crust that comes from using buttermilk. Make sure to use cold butter that’s been cut into cubes for this recipe. Break the butter down using a fork or a pastry cutter. You want to continue to do so until the butter is the size of oat flakes and some are the size of peas. Add the egg and buttermilk to the flour mixture and using a spoon, mix until the dough comes together. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or just wrap the dough and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. You can prepare the apple pie filling while the dough is cooling. Cut the dough in half. Roll out the dough into 14 x 10 rectangle. This will fit a 13 x 9 baking pan. I like to roll the dough out on a floured surface, then fold the dough very loosely over a rolling pin and transfer it to the baking pan and gently press it in place. Alternately, you can fold the dough and then fold it again and gently transfer it into the baking pan. Dump and evenly spread the apple mixture all over the bottom layer of crust. If you’ve got excess liquid pooling in your apple mixture, just place the apples over the pie crust. Spoon a few tablespoon of liquid but be careful not to put too much as this will cause the bottom crust to get kind of soggy. That’s no bueno! I stole a few apple pieces before dumping them in, I encourage you to do the same. They taste amaze-balls! Repeat the rolling of the crust and lay the layer over the apples. Gently press the edges. Brush on the egg white and sprinkle with cinnamon and turbinado sugar on top. Let the apple pie bars bake for 50 – 60 minutes. It WILL be the longest hour of your life! The smell of these babies will torture you. Let the apple pie bars cool for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. If you cut into them at room temperature they won’t really hold their shape. I suggest letting them cool in the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes. That way, they cut into perfect little squares. Prepare the icing while the apple pie bars are cooling in the refrigerator. And that’s it! Serve them up with a little or a lot of icing drizzled on top of them. Or skip the icing and warm them for a few seconds in the microwave before serving with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can never go wrong with ice cream! Buttery, flaky crust, sweetly-tart apples along with that icing, they’ll have you going back for seconds. But who’s complaining? I for one am definitely not!
- Note – It will seem like there are a lot of ingredients involved when you look at the recipe card in a glance. Please keep in mind some of the ingredients are required for more than one portion, i’ve listed each quantity separately! Like this recipe? Craving more? Stay in touch and show your love! Follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Bloglovin’, and Tumblr.
Once the bars are cooled at room temperature, they can be served. The apple filling is still too hot to slice into perfect shapes. Cooling in the refrigerator allows the bars to be cut more neatly. Recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Classy and the rest of the internet.
