By Genevieve Ko
- Total Time
- 1½ hours, plus cooling
- Rating
- 4(2,302)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This delivers all the pleasure of apple pie — a buttery crust and topping sandwiching juicy spiced apples — without the need to roll out a dough. A simple dough is pressed into a bottom crust and squeezed into crumbles for the top. You can arrange the topping into a lattice, stripes, or other decorative pattern if you’d like. The whole pan easily serves 24 and can be cut into smaller bars if you want to serve an even-bigger crowd. These bars are best the day they are made, but they can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Or, they can be frozen immediately after cooling and kept in the freezer for up to 1 month. Just make sure to thaw them before serving.
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Ingredients
Yield:2 dozen bars
- Softened butter, for greasing pan
- 3cups/385 grams all-purpose flour
- 1cup/200 grams sugar
- 1teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3sticks/340 grams cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- ¾cup/75 grams walnuts, toasted and chopped
- ½teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1½pounds/680 grams tart apples, such as Granny Smith (about 3 large), peeled, cored and cut into ⅛-inch slices
- 1½pounds/680 grams sweet-tart apples, such as Fuji, Pink Lady or Gala (about 3 large), peeled, cored and cut into ⅛-inch slices
- 3tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼cup/55 grams unsalted butter (½ stick)
- 1teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ½teaspoon ground cardamom
- ⅔cup/135 grams sugar
For the Crust and Topping
For the Apple Filling
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)
298 calories; 17 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 20 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 100 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
Step
1
Make the crust and topping: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch cake pan with foil with overhang on all sides. Lightly grease pan with softened butter.
Step
2
Pulse flour, sugar and salt in a food processor with the blade attachment to mix. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand. Put 1½ cups in a medium bowl and mix in walnuts, cinnamon and cardamom. Squeeze with your hands to form a solid mass of dough. It’s O.K. if a few bits fall off. Cover and refrigerate.
Step
3
Pour remaining mixture into prepared pan and spread in an even layer, then press into bottom of pan and ½ inch up the sides.
Step
4
Bake until golden brown and dry to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees.
Step
5
While crust bakes, make the filling: Toss all of the apples with the lemon juice in a large bowl. Melt butter in a large sauté pan set over medium-high heat. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom and sizzle for 15 seconds. Add apples and cook, stirring often, until just starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and stir well. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all liquid releases from the apples then evaporates, 10 to 15 minutes. The mixture should be quite dry and the apples tender, but not sticking to the pan. Remove from heat and cool. (Tip: If you want your apples to cool quickly, spread them on a parchment-lined sheet pan and pop in the freezer for 5 to 7 minutes.)
Step
6
Spread apple filling evenly over crust and press down gently to get rid of any gaps between the apple slices. Uncover the reserved walnut mixture and break off pebble-sized pieces. Arrange pieces in a lattice or striped pattern over filling or scatter evenly on top.
Step
7
Bake until the topping is golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack. To serve, lift apple pie bars out of pan and onto a large cutting board. Slide bars off foil, then cut into 6 even strips crosswise and 4 even strips lengthwise.
Tip
- The unbaked crust and topping, reserved in the bowl and pressed into the pan, can be refrigerated for up to 2 days before baking, or frozen for up to 1 month and used directly from the freezer. The cooked apple pie filling can be refrigerated for up to 2 days and used directly from the refrigerator.
Ratings
4
out of 5
2,302
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Cooking Notes
Alethea
I make a simplified version of this Streusel with no sugar in the apple and only one baking. In other words, I put the chopped (unpeeled) apples and nuts directly on top of the chilled raw crust, grate the rest of the dough on top and bake it in one go. Bake near the bottom of the oven.
Greg
These were good, rich with butter, but there was a little too much cardamom for my taste. I will probably eliminate it from the topping. I may also cut back on the nutmeg. I prefer the simple flavor of the apples and light cinnamon.
Gale
Delicious as written! Yes, a pie is little bit easier, but you have to eat the whole pie. These little beauties keep in the fridge and freeze beautifully. You can pull out a few at a time if you need a quick dessert and they are like the day you baked them. They also make a generous 24 bars. As for the butter, my goodness, this is a dessert.. and well worth the splurge! Most negative comments on this recipe are because people don't care for cardamon. This is like the cilantro thing!!
erica
These are delicious! Left out cardamom (I was out) but otherwise followed recipe as-is. My husband, who doesn’t cook, asked me to show him how to make them. Unprecedented.
Christine
This is almost identical to an Ina Garten recipe where she omits the cardamom. I have made this twice, to great reviews. The recipe can easily be halved and believe increasing the amount of walnuts made for a better topping. In my opinion, lining the pan with foil is a "must."
linda
This is an excellent bar. I, for one, love cardamom & have used it in my apple pies so, when this apple recipe called for the spice my heart lept! This recipe needs no tweaking, omissions or additions. Just go bravely where many cooks have gone before & prepare as written. You'll be very, very happy.
kh
Making it now. Why does it need to cook for 40min after topping put on? Apples are already soft. Doesn’t topping just need cooking?
Meribeth
Erin, to scale from a 9x12 to a 8x8 pan:9x12=108 and 8x8=6464 is 59% of 108.Multiply each ingredient by .59 (using half the amounts would be easier, but would result in a slightly thinner bar)
Trish
I baked this per the recipe. I agree with whatever commenters thought the bake time was too long. The bottom of the crust was almost burnt and obscured the taste of the rest of the bar. I also thought the crust was rather tasteless in spite of having used 3 sticks of butter in it. There are recipes in old church cookbooks that are easier and taste better than this. I consider this a waste of three sticks of butter and six apples.
LMLewis
Flawless. Perfect. Not being a frequent user or fan of cardamom I was tempted to leave it out. I polled the gathered diners who voted for the cardamom. Of all the holiday desserts at that meal, this was the most popular and the one everyone wanted to take home with them. It was, by all accounts, delicious.
Jeff Winett
These were nothing less than sensational, and I made them as written. A new heirloom recipe for me has been born. Last night we had these with vanilla ice cream, and this morning with coffee! Can't rave enough. Thank you Ms. Ko for what you've shared.
Melinda
Super yummy, but very rich. I felt the recipe made too much crust so I didn’t use it all, or you may want to make a little extra apple mixture as it does cook down. I only baked them for 30 minutes and they were perfect. The apples are cooked down already. This could even be a good recipe for Thanksgiving for those who don’t want a whole slice of pie. You still get all the flavor without as many calories.
marthanettie
This surely looks delicious! However I wonder if the taste merits the health hazard of SO much butter and if the apples still have any real flavour after so much cooking?? I have been making apple pie for about 50 years (!) and the standard recipe for pie dough calls for a generous 1/3 cup of butter for 1 cup of flour!!! This “pie” is finger food which is a great idea but more complicated and time consuming to make? In the “old fashion” recipe rolling out the dough takes about 5 minutes.
Jann
I'm thinking 3 sticks of butter would hold any dough together.
sport
this was delicious... I can't abide cardamom, so I left it out of the crust and topping and replaced it with a pinch of ginger in the filling... yum
Denise B
So much talk about butter! Here's my take - this is indeed a shortbread crust. A typical shortbread recipe has one part sugar, two parts butter and four parts flour. If you reduce the crust sugar by 1/4 cup in this recipe, it's spot on! For a little extra flavor, embellish with salt, vanilla, lemon peel, or whatever your own taste buds desire. The baking is different though - to bake through without burning, low and slow is typical. 300°F for 30-40 minutes should do it.
Geothermal Susan
This was a big hit and so delicious. I followed the recipe exactly and found it very rich and flavorful with the spices bloomed in the butter. I think I would cut back on the sugar though, particularly in the filling. It was a bit sweet.
Rhonda
I’ve made this several times and it’s always a big hit. Great way to feed a small crowd.
Jo
Used Melt plant butter and pecans. Super!
Jo
Astonishingly good! I love that the crust and topping are made together. Used plant butter, still very tasty.
Diane
I have made this 3 times this month for parties and celebrations. Loved by every one. Cut butter down by 1/2 stick total. Also 1/4 cup less sugar over all and 1/4 cardamom. Also have froze small packs of left overs. Yes, takes more time then pie, but more versatile. Dinner
Diane
Everyone loved this last year and will bake again this Christmas. Used pecans instead of walnuts because I had them on hand.
DVB
Wonderful to have the bottom and top crusts come out of the same bowl essentially. Really delicious but very rich! These are a once a year treat.
Beth from NJ
These are delicious. I love the taste of the spices cooked briefly in the butter before adding the apples. Based on the comments and my own ideas, I made a few changes. I did not use a food processor. I cooked the apples until they seemed the right level of doneness without worrying about how much liquid they had. I halved the recipe and used a square pan. I added a half cup of oats to the crust, used half a stick of melted butter and replaced the rest with applesauce, and used less sugar. Yum!
Missy Mooney
I made these and followed the recipe exactly except I had to hand mix the crust with a pastry blender which may have made the difference. I left the cardamum because I am in Sweden and that flavor is appreciated here (it is super nice but maybe not so traditional in the US). The crust was just sooooo buttery and almost greasy, however the French colleague did not find that problematic. Would probably be 5 stars with a better bottom layer.
Davey Kaye
Watch it, I over-cooked the base waiting for it to "brown" during the first cook. Still tasted delicious but 30 seconds longer and it would have been a throwaway.
Charlotte K
I made the mistake of trying to make these the night before Thanksgiving, and it was a lot. I had read the recipe but somehow missed how many stages of baking were involved. I finally wound up making the mixture, put half in the apples and then the other half on top and gave it one good bake, and it was delicious. I'll definitely make that mixture again and use it with other fruit and apples too.
Natalie
I doubled the spice but otherwise followed the recipe and it was a huge hit. I loved the flavor of the cardamon and walnuts. I will make this instead of apple pie from now on.
Diane
Delicious! Easier to make second time.
celestia
I used the recommended 9x13 pan and the bar was very flat. Definitely make in a 9x9 pan.
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