Try these browned butter apple bars, which are fantastic. Both the crumble topping and the crust are made from the same dough.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Freeze Time: | 30 mins |
| Bake Time: | 35 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Servings: | 16 |
| Yield: | 16 bars |
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ⅔ cup packed brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 cups chopped apples
- tablespoon packed brown sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Cook 3/4 cup butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until melted and light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it; it can burn. Pour into a bowl. Freeze until solid, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, for the filling melt 2 tablespoons butter in the same skillet. Add apples, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, lemon juice, nutmeg, and pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are golden brown and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 3 tablespoons brown sugar; toss to coat.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a 9-inch square baking pan with enough parchment paper to create an overhang on all sides.
- Stir together flour, oats, 2/3 cup brown sugar, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Coarsely shred frozen browned butter or chop into small pieces. Cut butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk and vanilla; stir with a fork just until a crumbly dough comes together. Press about two-thirds of the dough (2 2/3 cups) in an even layer in the prepared baking pan.
- Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
- Spread apple mixture over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over top. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Using parchment sides to lift bars, transfer to a cutting board and cut into squares.
- You will need about 2 lbs of apples (4 to 5 large apples).
Reviews
This recipe came out well and everyone loved it! My biggest complaint is the misconception of this recipe only taking 20 min hands on like the recipe states. There are multiple steps within the steps, and I consider hands-on watching butter to be sure it doesn’t burn and stirring apples in the pan. Apparently, the person who wrote this receipt presumes those don’t fall under “hands-on”. It took me two hours (granted some was lapse time while waiting for butter to freeze) to prepare this dish and then put it in the oven. It didn’t look browned or golden after 25 min, so I put it under a low broiler for 5 min or so. All-in-all, as tasty as it was, I probably won’t make this dessert again as it is too labor intensive. Please be a little clearer with the amount of time for hands-on.
This was absolutely delicious – but in no way was it a bar! had to eat it with a spoon as it was very crumbly. Kept thinking I must have left something out. Might make it again to put in a bowl but definitely not to eat as a bar. Glad I tested it out on my husband before I made it to take somewhere.
I loved the addition of the browned butter, and the streusel topping was divine! However, I’m not a fan of the texture of the caramelized apple. It was overly soggy and affected the whole appeal of the bars. But, overall, still tasty and sweet. Just most likely will keep trying apple dessert recipes until I find one with the best mouth feel.
I needed a GF/vegan apple recipe for a get together and this looked like such a great dessert I decided to make this. I made the recipe as written subbing unsalted butter for Earth balance vegan butter, 1 c King Arthur’s GF flour, ¼ c oat flour and ¼ c almond flour and used a flax egg yolk. This was so good you would not know it V/GF. Thank you so much for the inspiration and recipe.