These Glazed Apple Streusel Bars feature a delicious shortbread crust, spiced apple filling, streusel topping, and a sweet glaze. They taste like a piece of dutch apple pie, but only require half the work!
One of my most favorite desserts is dutch apple pie. I love the cinnamon apple filling, buttery crust, and crumbly streusel topping.
These glazed apple streusel bars are just like a piece of dutch apple pie, but they’re so much easier to make!
This recipe works because it’s:
- Great to make for a last-minute party. The ingredient list is full of common items that you likely already have in your pantry and fridge.
- So easy to make. The dough comes together very quickly and there are no advanced baking skills required. The hardest part is peeling and slicing all of the apples.
- Absolutely delicious! These bars are sure to go quick at your next get-together, so make sure you grab one early!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Combine 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a medium mixing bowl.
Cut 1 cup of softened butter into the dry ingredients until you have pea-sized crumbs.
Then, stir in 1 beaten egg to create a dough.
Combine 6 cups of peeled sliced apples, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl and stir gently making sure all of the apples are coated.
Press 2/3 of the dough into a lightly greased 9×13 pan.
Spread cinnamon apples over the bottom crust.
Crumble the remaining dough over the apples.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, until the streusel topping is golden brown. Let cool for at least 30 minutes.
Mix 1 cup powdered sugar. 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, and 1½ tablespoons of milk in a small bowl. Carefully drizzle over cooled bars before serving.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
You can use any type of apples you like in this recipe. The go-to apple for baking is usually Granny Smith because it adds a nice tartness to the other sweet ingredients in the recipe, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand!
The butter and egg should be at room temperature to get the best results. If you need to quickly bring the ingredients to room temp, see my tricks in the FAQ section below.
If you don’t have a pastry cutter to cut in the butter, a sturdy fork or your hands work just as well.
Normally, you would use cold butter when cutting it into the flour for things like pie crusts or scones. However, this is a shortbread crust, so it’s prepared more like a sugar cookie dough and not a pie crust.
The glaze on these bars is delicious, but you could substitute it with a caramel ice cream topping for a delicious caramel apple pie bar.
While these apple pie bars are delicious on their own, you can take it up a notch by serving them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or by topping them with whipped cream.
If you need any dairy-free or vegan substitutions for the ingredients, try these:
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FAQs
Cutting in butter means incorporating butter into dry ingredients so that the butter stays in small clumps. This is most commonly done with a pastry cutter, but you can use a fork or a food processor as well.
The purpose of cutting in butter is to evenly distribute the butter throughout the flour mixture so that when the pieces of butter melt, they create layers of flakiness or pockets in the baked product.
We all know that you should let butter sit out at room temperature for about an hour before using it in baking recipes. But sometimes you just forget! So here are a few tricks for quickly softening butter.
You can follow this tutorial and heat 2 cups of water in the microwave. Place the cut butter in a bowl and then place the bowl in the microwave. The heat from the boiling water will soften the butter in about 10 minutes.
Alternatively, you can place the sticks of butter on a plate and microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power. Repeat until the butter has softened.
Unlike butter, you should not leave eggs on the counter to come to room temperature as this can promote bacteria growth in the eggs.
Instead, you can place the eggs in a bowl and fill it with warm water (like what you would want for a shower) and let them sit for 5-10 minutes. When they’re warm to the touch and no longer cold, they’re ready to use.
Yes, these bars will freeze nicely. Let them cool completely and then wrap the individual squares with plastic wrap. Place the bars in an airtight container or large Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw the bars in the fridge overnight before serving. Bars can be served cold, at room temperature, or warmed in the microwave.
I hope your family loves these apple streusel bars! If you make them, be sure to take a picture and tag me on Instagram with @ashcroftfamilytable and use the hashtag #ashcroftfamilytable!
And if you’d like to get a 4-week meal plan featuring my recipes, just enter your email in the form above and you’ll get it straight to your inbox!
Glazed Apple Streusel Bars
Ingredients
Bars
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened, 2 sticks
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
Filling
- 6 cups apples, peeled and sliced, about 4½ medium apples
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1½ Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Cut butter into the dry ingredients until you have pea-sized crumbs. Then, stir in egg to create a dough.
- Combine apples, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl and stir gently making sure all of the apples are coated.
- Press 2/3 of the dough into a lightly greased 9×13 pan. Spread cinnamon apples over the bottom crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the apples.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, until the streusel topping is golden brown. Let cool for at least 30 minutes.
- Mix powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk in a small bowl. Carefully drizzle over cooled bars before serving.