These gluten-free apple pie bars are packed with the flavor and texture you love from apple pie.
The Story:
An ooey gooey, warm and comforting apple filling, and a buttery, crumbly crust and topping. A beautiful thing happens when you combine apples with cinnamon! This flavor combo instantly transports you to Fall- a season that urges you to slow down. The sun asks you to rest sooner, the cooler weather warns you to seek out comfort, and the season implores you to embrace simplicity and reap the harvest of seeds sown much earlier. These bars are a great way to usher in the Fall season! I love a good apple pie, but sometimes it’s fun to totally reimagine a recipe into something new and make it your own! Top these puppies off with some ice cream or our dairy-free caramel sauce and you’ll be so happy!
Jump to:
🧾The Ingredients:
Here is the list of ingredients you will need to make these gluten free apple pie bars.
- Almond Flour: A favorite flour for gluten free and grain free baking. Greatly helpful in achieving the crumb you want in your baked goods!
- Tapioca Flour: When you combine tapioca flour with a good protein flour (almond, coconut, oat), magic happens. Using a combination of flours in your grain free/gluten free baking is the key to great bakes.
- Gluten Free Oats: I love using gluten free, sprouted, organic oats for optimal digestion. Any oats will do!
- Dairy free butter: I love using Earth Balance dairy free butter in this recipe. It has nice flavor and holds up well to create the crumbly texture you’re looking for here.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is great for a rich, sweet depth of flavor
- Egg: For texture and structure.
- Baking Soda: Your rising agent to give volume to your bake.
- Xanthan Gum: This is the gluten-free “replacement” to help your baked goods hold structure, instead of crumbling away.
- Salt: Every baked good needs a good pinch of salt!
- Apples: The star ingredient! You can use all the same kind of apples, or a variety. Add cinnamon to them and they will be delicious no matter what!
- Cinnamon: One of the best fall flavors out there. So warming and comforting.
- Lemon Juice: A bit of acid goes a long way in baked goods and cooking. This adds a balance to the apples.
- Nutmeg: Warm, earthy, delicious depth of flavor.
- Ginger: A favorite. Don’t add too much, as it gets “hot” pretty quickly. But you’ll be pleasantly surprised how ginger elevates your apple pie filling.
Step By Step Preparation Instructions:
There are 2 components to these bars: the dough and the filling.
- Step 1: First, you’re going to make the crust/topping for the bars. This base doubles as the crust, as well as the topping. Mix together the dry ingredients.
- Step 2: Then add the butter and cut it in with a fork or pastry blender until you have a crumbly mixture.
- Step 3: Last, add the egg and mix well. The dough should be a little shaggy, but will hold together if pressed together.
- Step 4: Press ½ the dough into an 8X8 pan and bake for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
- Step 5: Peel and cube your apples. Get a skillet nice and hot, then add the apples and butter and cook until the apples are starting to soften.
- Step 6: Next, add in the apple pie seasonings and sugar, and continue to cook until the sugar is starting to caramelize slightly.
- Step 7: Pour the apple filling on top of the crust. Then, sprinkle and crumble the remaining dough mixture on top. Bake for about 20 minutes until the crust is nice and golden brown.
Recipe FAQ's:
- What are the best apples to use for apple pie bars? You can use any you’d like, but I find that using a variety makes the most flavorful filling. For this particular batch, we had gone to an apple orchard so there were several different varieties. A mix of sweet and tart apples yields a super yummy apple pie/bar.
- Can I use this filling recipe for an apple pie? Yes! I would use this same filling recipe for an apple pie!
- Can I use regular dairy and flour ingredients as a substitution in this recipe? Dairy, yes. Flour, no. Unfortunately, using the combination of almond and tapioca flour does not translate as a 1-to-1 replacement for regular flour.
More Apple Recipes:
📖 The Recipe:
Gluten-Free Apple Pie Bars
All the flavors of apple pie that you love, none of the work that you don’t! These gluten free apple pie bars have a delicious crumble crust and topping, and flavorful, caramelized apples tucked in between. No gluten and no dairy, and so delicious! The perfect way to welcome fall!
Ingredients
For the Apple Pie Filling
- 4 cups cubed apples
- 2 tablespoon dairy free butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon tapioca flour
For the Crust/Crumble Topping
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1.25 cups tapioca flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups gluten free quick oats
- 1 cup dairy free butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 340.
- First, you’re going to make the crust/topping for the bars. This base doubles as the crust, as well as the topping. Mix together the dry ingredients.
- Now add the butter and cut it in with a fork or pastry blender until you have a crumbly mixture.
- Last, add the egg and mix well. The dough should be a little shaggy, but will hold together if pressed together.
- Press ½ the dough into an 8X8 pan and bake for about 12-14 minutes. It should have a little browning. Set aside to cool slightly.
- While the crust is cooling, peel and cube your apples.
- Get a skillet nice and hot, then add butter and apples and butter and cook until the apples are starting to soften.
- Once the apples are tender, add in the apple pie seasonings and sugar, and continue to cook until the sugar is starting to caramelize slightly.
- Now sprinkle on the tapioca flour and continue to mix until the filling mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat.
- Gently pour the apple filling on top of the cooled crust. Then, sprinkle and crumble the remaining dough mixture on top.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until the crust is nice and golden brown. These are great on their own, or top with icre cream or caramel if you wish! Enjoy!
The Finished Product:
An indulgent, hearty, dessert bar packed with all the flavors you love to mark the beginning of Fall! Happy apple picking!
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