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Apple Crisp Shortbread Bars

Apple crisp shortbread bars with a buttery pressed crust, spiced apple filling, and a golden oat crumble topping. Thinly sliced apples bubble under the crumble for that classic crisp-bar texture, finished with a caramel drizzle.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 57 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 22 minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 320
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Shortbread base (doubles as crumble)
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
Apple filling
  • 4 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 0.33 cup granulated sugar
  • 1.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 caramel sauce for serving

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep and preheat
  1. Preheat oven to 375F and line a 9x13 pan with parchment for easy lifting.
  2. Mix all-purpose flour, rolled oats, brown sugar (packed), cinnamon, and salt, then cut in the cold butter until the mixture looks crumbly.
  3. Reserve 1 cup of the crumbly mixture for the topping.
Bake the crust
  1. Press the remaining mixture firmly into the lined pan to form a base, then bake for 12 minutes.
  2. Let the hot base sit briefly while you prepare the apples so the topping stays evenly scattered.
Assemble and bake
  1. Toss the apple slices with granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cornstarch, and lemon juice until evenly coated.
  2. Layer the spiced apples over the hot base in an even thickness.
  3. Scatter the reserved crumble over the apples so the top is covered but not fully packed.
  4. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 375F until the topping is golden and the apples are bubbling.
Cool and serve
  1. Cool the bars completely before slicing to help the layers set.
  2. Drizzle caramel sauce over the cooled bars to serve.

Notes

For clean slices, cool completely (at least 1 hour) before cutting; chilling can further firm them up. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days. Freeze baked bars for up to 2 months (thaw in the fridge overnight). For a lighter option, replace half the butter with cold plant-based butter sticks designed for baking, keeping the crumb texture similar.