Apple Streusel Bars

So Mother’s Day is coming up and I’m betting that there are a bunch of you (or your dearest, darlingest husbands) who are looking for a special treat to make for breakfast for all the moms in your lives. I can’t imagine waking up to the smell of anything better than apples and cinnamon baked with sweet pastry, plus who doesn’t want an excuse to eat pie-like creations for breakfast? If sweets for breakfast isn’t your thing, these Apple Streusel Bars are a fabulous finger pastry for a late brunch or even a perfectly portioned dessert after dinner.

 

Apple Streusel Bars from Our Best BitesSpray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
To prepare the crust, you’ll need flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, softened butter, and an egg.
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Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.
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Add butter…
Apple Streusel Bars-4Cut it in with a pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbles.
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Whisk the egg…
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and gently mix it in until the entire mixture is moistened.
Take about 2/3 of the crumb mixture…
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and pat it onto the bottom of the dish.
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Preheat oven to 350 and set aside.
Now. I read an article recently where Alton Brown dissed the use of single-use kitchen appliances. To a large extent, I agreed with him with the exception of the pineapple corer (I’m not getting near a pineapple without one) and an apple peeler, slicer, & corer.
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I can definitively say that if I didn’t have one, anything involving cooked apples would happen exactly 0% of the time at my house. It makes one of the most tedious chores a delight.
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Yes, I just used the word “delight” here. That’s how strongly I feel about it.
Anyway, speaking of delights, this filling is a snap to prepare–you’ll need a couple of Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, and sliced; please see above commentary), some flour, sugar, and cinnamon.
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 Combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl…
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and toss with apples.
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Spread apples out on prepared crust.

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Sprinkle reserved crust mixture evenly over apples

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and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool completely.

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To prepare glaze, whisk together 2 cups of powdered sugar, some almond extract,

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and enough milk to achieve desired consistency (about 3-4 tablespoons).

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Place glaze in a Ziploc bag and cut off a very small portion of one of the corners (or just use a fork) to drizzle glaze over cooled pastry and allow to harden (you can place it in the freezer to hurry things along). Cut into bars and serve.

In an attempt to keep yourself from eating the whole pan, you, like me, will probably have to send half of them to a nice home…

Apple Streusel Bars from Our Best Bites

 

Apple Streusel Bars

5 from 32 votes
Easier (and tastier!) than pie, these apple streusel bars will find a permanent place on your dessert or brunch table!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings12 servings

Ingredients

Sweet Pastry

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter softened (no substitutions!)
  • 1 egg beaten

Apple Filling

  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 4 cups about 3 medium or 2 large sliced, peeled baking apples like Granny Smith

GLAZE

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons milk whole milk is best
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

  • To prepare crust, mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbles. Gently mix in beaten egg.
  • Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Gently pat about ⅔ of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the dish. Preheat oven to 350℉ and set aside.
  • To prepare apple filling, combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon and toss with apples.
  • Spread apples out on prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crust mixture over apples evenly and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.
  • When finished, allow to cool completely.
  • To prepare glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, almond extract, and enough milk to achieve desired consistency.
  • Place glaze in a Ziploc bag and cut off a very small portion of one of the corners (or just use a fork) to drizzle glaze over cooled pastry and allow to harden (you can place it in the freezer to hurry things along). Cut into bars and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 388kcal, Carbohydrates: 61g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 41mg, Sodium: 239mg, Potassium: 82mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 41g, Vitamin A: 502IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 27mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American, Thanksgiving
Keyword: Apple Streusel Bars
Calories: 388kcal
Author: Kate Jones
Cost: $5
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
woman in denim shirt holding a salad bowl
Meet The Author

Sara Wells

Sara Wells co-founded Our Best Bites in 2008. She is the author of three Bestselling Cook Books, Best Bites: 150 Family Favorite RecipesSavoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites, and 400 Calories or Less from Our Best Bites. Sara’s work has been featured in many local and national news outlets and publications such as Parenting MagazineBetter Homes & GardensFine CookingThe Rachel Ray Show and the New York Times.

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Questions & Reviews

  1. Tina and Jason–Yeah, just regular, all-purspose flour. You COULD use self-rising flour and leave out the salt and baking powder, but I would just get the all-purpose flour. Hope that helps! 🙂

  2. When you say "flour" you mean all-purpose, right? If I use self rising, do I omit the baking powder and salt? Why must I always overthink things? lol

  3. 5 stars
    I made these last night for my sisters and I–OMG they were amazing! I made them gluten free/dairy free using Domata Living Flour all-purpose flour blend in place of the regular flour, Earth Balance non-dairy butter substitute, and coconut milk. They were very good and I will DEFINITELY be making them again!

  4. 5 stars
    So far everything I have tried from your blog has been great!! I really liked this recipe, was delicious!! I made it in a slightly smaller dish so the bars were thicker and added some extra cinnamon. Yum!

  5. 5 stars
    This past weekend, I went to an apple orchard and thought this recipe would be great to make. These turned out delicious!

    P.S I love your blog!

  6. I have a bunch of company coming in May. Would these turn out if I made them early and froze them? Would I just cook them part-way before freezing? thanks – I LOVE your site!

  7. 5 stars
    Just made these tonight for a family dinner and everyone loved them! My dad requested them for Father's Day. I know I never have to worry about a new recipe failing if I get it from here, you guys are the best!

  8. 5 stars
    Emily just made these for a baby shower the other day and they were amazing. I don't usually like apple deserts but this was awesome, the almond glaze made the desert for me. I convinced Emily that she would not want to just bring the pan to the shower as it would be much better to cut them and plate them. About half made it to the plate, and I made it to my bed with a stomach ache, but it was worth it…

  9. 5 stars
    Hey, I tried these today and they were delicious! Thanks. I posted them on my blog with a link to your for the recipe. I hope you don't mind. Thanks again for the inspiration.

    mindikamoments.blogspot.com

  10. 5 stars
    This is by far the best thing I've ever baked. I saw this recipe and couldn't wait to try it. I took a whole pan to my daughter's school last night for teacher conferences and this morning when I dropped her off they were all raving about them. Thank you for sharing.

  11. I have a huge bag of apples I'm totally making some!! My mother in law made these and of course I ate like 5 bars. Whoa SOOOOO yummy!! I think theses are going to be my new tradition to make every fall!!
    THanks so much for the yummy recipes!! I love desserts!

  12. 5 stars
    I made these yesterday and there were only about 2 left after only 15 mins. I could only hold them off for 20 mins to let them cool so they were still a little warm but soo good. GREAT RECIPE and easy.

  13. 5 stars
    Loved these! Apple desserts usually are not my favorite, but I had to try these because the picture looked too good to pass up! AMAZING!

  14. 5 stars
    I made these today! Very yummy! Could be dangerous with some ice cream!

    Thanks! The crust was such a great texture!

  15. Ah, bless you, Elesa! It’s comments like that that make my day! 🙂 I’m so glad you’re having fun in the kitchen (and that your hubby is having fun eating!)

  16. Oh, this looks delicious. I think this will be the next thing I try. Right after the BBQ chicken legs for dinner tonight. Seriously, I have never cooked so much. My husband thinks he is living the high life. I eventually just had to your site on my google bar because I come here so often. And I am having a great time. Thank you for making cooking fun for me!

  17. 5 stars
    I made these this morning and I had to call my mom to come get some so I wouldn't eat them all! My kids (1 & 3) loved them too! 🙂 thanks for the recipe.

  18. Oh yum, these look fabulous! I love my hubby, but pastry may be a little beyond him. I think I’ll make this for later in the day and let him stick to making waffles, eggs and bacon for breakfast. 😉

    – Jennifer

  19. Those look simply divine. Maybe if I hint really hard, I can get my hubbie to make them with his amazing scrambled eggs. Yum!

  20. Oh yum. This is right up my alley. So the crust is more of a pastry as opposed to cakey, right? These sound sooo yummy.

  21. Those look so nummy! Perfect for mother’s day, but I think I might just have to make them for myself sooner! Your recipies are so great. Thanks

  22. This is pretty much what I want for Mother’s Day:) I am not a chocolate person (I know…that is almost unfemale or something) but apple…now, we’re talking. This reminds me of a recipe my mom made called “Apple Pastry Squares.” Glaze, apples… only difference, is that it had a butter pie crust on top and on bottom. It was super hard to roll out a large rectangular pie crust… this looks awesome.