Halloween is over, so it is officially my favorite time of the year! Every holiday season I try to convince Ryan that we need to decorate for Christmas a little earlier than the previous year. If you follow me on social media, you know all things Christmas makes me extremely happy. The movies, baked goods, and especially a house full of festive decor. However, I could never skip over the Thanksgiving meal! In honor of one of the food holidays I love the most, I’m sharing a brand new dessert recipe with you just in time for your Thanksgiving meal planning – Apple Pie Bars with Cinnamon Apple Crunch Topping! This recipe is grain-free, dairy-free, and has no refined sugars. And it can be made nut-free too!
What it does have is a decadent shortbread crust with a gooey apple filling that’s topped with a crunchy apple and cinnamon crumb. It pairs perfectly with a scoop of your favorite dairy-free ice cream after a Thanksgiving feast! This recipe is meant to have all your favorite flavors of a traditional apple pie but in a less time-consuming bar fashion.
The Crust:
For this recipe, I used my shortbread cookie recipe, but you can use a dough of your choice. Your favorite cookie dough would work well as a crust too. My recipe for snickerdoodle cookies, sugar cookies, nut-free cut-out cookies, or even a graham cracker crust will all work well with this recipe.
The filling:
The filling for this recipe is similar to traditional apple pie filling. It has thinly sliced apples that stew and soften in their own juices mixed with maple syrup, lemon juice, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I love to use a combination of granny smith apples and honey crisp.
The topping:
I wanted to give this recipe a crunchy topping, without the hassle of making a grain-free top crust. It’s simple yet packed with apple flavor. I used baked cinnamon apple chips mixed with a bit of ghee, coconut flour, arrowroot, and maple sugar for a sweet and crunchy topping bursting with flavor. To elevate this already delicious treat, I added a drizzle of my honey-based caramel sauce from page 290 in my first cookbook, Against all Grain. This step is optional as it tastes amazing without it, but I highly recommend not skipping it!
I hope you enjoy this recipe and be sure to let me know if you make it! If you are looking for more Thanksgiving and holiday desserts, be sure to check out my cookbook Celebrations. The Thanksgiving and Christmas chapters are some of my favorite recipes of the whole book! I also have several holiday desserts over on the blog under the desserts tab!
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PrintApple Pie Bars
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- ½ recipe for shortbread or crust of choice – (enough dough to make 1 dozen cookies – crust should reach about ½-inch up the dish when pressed in)
- Filling
- 1 ½ pounds tart and firm apples, such as granny smith and honey crisp
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- Topping
- 3 1/2-ounces baked apple chips
- ¼ cup maple sugar
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter or coconut oil
- ¼ cup warm caramel sauce, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line the bottom of a 10×10 baking dish with parchment paper. Press the crust into the bottom of the pan and slightly up the sides. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. Toss with maple syrup, lemon juice, arrowroot powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Add the filling to the top of the crust and return to the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until bubbling.
- Place the baked apple chips, maple sugar, arrowroot powder, and coconut flour in a bowl. Use a pastry cutter to crush. Cut in the butter. Add the crunchy topping to the dish and return to the oven for 12 minutes, until the apples are bubbling on the sides and the topping is golden.
- Drizzle with caramel if desired, cut, and serve. Bars can be stored in the fridge, tightly wrapped, for 2 weeks.
Keywords: dessert, apple, fall, thanksgiving, Danielle Walker, against all grain, paleo, gluten free, grain free, clean eating, healthy, kid-friendly
11/03/21
Apple Pie Bars
Oh my goodness! These are truly AMAZING!!! I’m pretty sure I ate the whole thing myself. My tastebuds thank you, Danielle, but not my waistline! Lol
★★★★★
Made these for Thanksgiving and they were a hit!
★★★★★
This was really tasty. I loved the combination of the granny smith apples with the sweetness of the topping. And best of all, I was able to make it vegan, so that my daughter could enjoy it too.
★★★★★
Is there another flour other than almond flour for this recipe? Thanks
You can use cashew flour here.
Omg so delish! Made them for company last night and they were a huge hit! Served with dairy free ice cream and warmed up 😊
★★★★★
Yum! Topped with dairy-free ice cream is our favorite way to enjoy it!
Where can I find baked apple chips?
Check Target or your grocery store in the aisle with the dried fruits.
Where do you get the baked apple chips? Is there a recipe?
They’re an item I purchase. Check Target or your grocery store in the aisle with the dried fruits.
This looks amazing!! Maybe you could clarify in the ingredients list to buy ‘cinnamon’ apple chips. I should have read everything before I went out to purchase but didn’t. I purchased plain apple chips because it just says baked apple chips. Not sure if I can just add cinnamon to the plain?? Also wondering what size baking dish if you double? 9×13? It says 10×10 even when you double it. I suppose I could just make 2. Anyway, excited to make this! Thanks!
Hi! Yes, you can add regular ground cinnamon if your apple chips are plain. I’d probably make 2 10x10s.
What other size pan would you use if you don’t have 10×10?
Something similar, 8×8? 9×9? You could do a rectangle too, but something similar in size.
Is there something that can be used instead of arrowroot flour? Excited to try this recipe for thanksgiving!!
tapioca starch works the same in the same quantity!
Can’t wait to make these. Instead of maple sugar, can it be subbed with brown coconut sugar?
Yes! Maple sugar and coconut sugar are prefect 1:1 swaps for one another