Apple Crumble Bars with Salted Caramel Sauce and Ice Cream Recipe
Delicious homemade Apple Crumble Bars featuring a buttery base, tender apple filling, and a crunchy oat crumble topping. Perfectly balanced sweet and tart flavors with cinnamon and nutmeg spice, served best warm with ice cream and salted caramel sauce.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Base & Crumble Topping
- 125g / 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups (300g) plain/all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) white sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg
Crumble Topping
- 1/3 cup (30g) rolled oats (traditional oats, not quick or instant)
Apple Filling
- 3 – 4 large Granny Smith apples, cut into 0.7cm / 1/3″ dice (~4 cups)
- 1/4 cup (35g) plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 1/4 cup (50g) white sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Serving
- Salted caramel sauce
- Ice cream
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) to prepare for baking the bars evenly.
- Prepare Pan: Grease a 20cm (8-inch) square pan and line it with baking or parchment paper with an overhang. This makes it easy to lift the bars out after baking.
- Make Base Mixture: In a bowl, combine melted butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until no visible flour bits remain. Then add the egg and mix thoroughly to form the dough.
- Press Base: Lightly press about 2/3 of the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan to create the base layer.
- Bake Base: Bake the base in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until it turns slightly golden. Remove and let it cool for 5 minutes.
- Prepare Apple Filling: While the base is baking, mix the diced apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl to combine well.
- Prepare Crumble Topping: Add oats to the reserved crumble mixture (the remaining 1/3 of dough), then mix with a wooden spoon or your fingers until the oats are mostly incorporated.
- Assemble Bars: Spread the apple filling evenly over the baked base. Then crumble the oat topping over the apple layer using your hands.
- Bake Final Bars: Return the pan to the oven and bake for 30–35 minutes until the crumble topping is a deep golden color.
- Cool and Serve: Remove from oven, allow bars to cool completely in the pan. Lift out using the parchment paper overhang, cut into bars, and serve. Enjoy warm with ice cream and salted caramel sauce for extra indulgence.
Notes
- Use traditional rolled oats, not quick, instant, or steel-cut oats for the best crumble texture.
- Granny Smith apples provide a tart contrast, but you can substitute any apple variety. For sweeter apples, reduce sugar slightly.
- Store bars in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days, refrigerate if in a warm climate. Topping softens over time but can be recrisped under the grill/broiler.
