I’m a HUGE fan of these delicious Apple Pie Bars. It wasn’t until I was married that I tried apple pie in the form of a bar. Brett’s mom has a small hobby farm up north on about 10 acres of land and has a few apple trees. So every year, she has a lot of apples that need to be used up. The tradition has been that we make a bunch of apple sauce and then use the rest for apple pie bars!
Over the years, they quickly became something I looked forward to during the fall! I remember when I was pregnant and on bedrest for a few months in the fall, she brought me apple pie bars. It made me so happy! A few years after I had the girls though, my body changed and no longer tolerated gluten very well. It took some time to figure everything out again! I missed these bars!
Gluten-free pie crusts
So, after learning how to live a gluten-free (and now mostly dairy-free ) life, I have found some really good pie crust recipes that meet all of those criteria. If you have no issues, use whatever pie crust you like or have a good recipe for. I want to share a few of my tried and true gluten and dairy free options though for those of you who may benefit.
Ok, my favorite pie crust recipe of all time is THIS ONE from Zen Belly. It’s naturally gluten and grain free. I imagine it could also be made dairy-free by swapping out the regular butter for Earth’s Best. I’ve had really great luck with that as a butter substitute when baking.
Because my daughter also has issues with almonds, I needed to also find a nut-free alternative. So my search began again. I ended up finding this one and like it! Ella loves it and that’s all that matters to me. 🙂 It’s not as good as the Zen Belly crust in my opinion, but it definitely works if you’re as restricted as we are!
Delicious Apple Pie Bars and other fall desserts
Alright friends, here is the recipe! It’s one of my favorites and honestly, would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving this year. Whether you choose to get together with family or not. We have a few other fall dessert ideas that we love. These Pumpkin Yum Yums are a family tradition of mine and this Apple Crisp is also a great way to use up your apples! Happy fall baking!
Delicious Apple Pie Bars
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts (of your choice)
- 7-8 cups apples (peeled and thinly sliced)
- 3 Tbsp coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1 egg (whisked)
- olive or avocado oil spray
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp milk (of your choice)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with olive or avocado oil.
- Using your fingers, press one of the pie crusts into the bottom of the pan and up the sides about an inch or so.
- In a large bowl, mix together the apples, cinnamon and coconut sugar.
- Pour the apple mixture on top of the pie crust.
- Roll out the other half of the dough between two pieces of parchment paper. You want to roll it into more of a rectangle shape (not round like it will most likely want to). Something I do is roll it out and then using a pizza cutter, cut the long sides down and add them to the top by pressing it down with my fingers. This helps create the rectangle.
- Once it's all rolled out, peel the top piece of parchment off and using the bottom piece, flip it on top of the apples.
- Carefully remove the parchment paper and press the dough together on the edges with your fingers.
- Using a knife, make a few cuts in the top of the crust.
- Then brush on the egg wash.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or so until the crust is golden brown.
- While that is baking, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla or almond extract. Add more milk if needed until you get a semi-runny consistency.
- Remove apple pie bars and allow to mostly cool.
- Drizzle glaze all over the top and spread with a knife.
- Serve with ice cream or whipped topping!
