Apple Cranberry Crumble Bars with Buttery Oat Topping
Three-layer bars featuring a buttery shortbread crust, spiced apple and cranberry filling with caramelized apples, and a crumbly oat topping with pecans. The filling combines diced honeycrisp apples, dried cranberries, cinnamon, and nutmeg for a tart-sweet flavor, while the crumble layer adds texture and richness with quick oats, brown sugar, and frozen butter worked into a mealy consistency.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softenedcoconut oilsame quantitydairy-freedairy-free
vegan alternative, may slightly alter flavor
Full guide → - ½ cup sugar, granulated
- 1 ½ cup flour, all-purpose
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoon unsalted buttercoconut oilsame quantitydairy-freedairy-free
vegan alternative, may slightly alter flavor
Full guide → - ¼ cup brown sugar
- 4 whole apples, peeled, cored, diced 1/4 inch, honeycrisp
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ground
- ½ cup water, as needed(optional)
- ½ cup pecans, finely chopped
- 1 ½ cup quick oatsrolled oatssame quantitygrain
slightly coarser texture
- 1 cup flour, all-purpose
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, frozen, cut into quarter-inch piecescoconut oilsame quantitydairy-freedairy-free
vegan alternative, may slightly alter flavor
Full guide →
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 10x13 baking dish with parchment paper.
- 2
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add flour and salt and mix until soft dough forms.
- 3
Press dough into bottom of pan and up the sides by half inch.
- 4
Bake until golden brown.
- 5
Remove and allow to cool.
- 6
Melt butter and brown sugar over low heat in a large sauté pan.
- 7
Peel, core and dice apples into quarter-inch pieces. Add to pan and cook until softened. Add cinnamon and nutmeg and cook until caramelized, adding water as needed to prevent sticking.
- 8
Add cranberries and remove from heat. Stir until combined and allow mixture to cool.
- 9
Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, pecans and salt.
- 10
Cut frozen butter into quarter-inch pieces, add to oat mixture, and using your hands squeeze butter into mixture until mealy consistency forms.
- 11
Spread apple cranberry mixture over crust. Top with crumble topping.
- 12
Bake until golden brown.
- 13
Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting and serving.
Tips
Use a mixer to achieve light and fluffy butter and sugar for the crust.
Add water gradually to the apple mixture to control consistency and prevent sticking.
Freeze butter before cutting into the oat mixture to ensure a crumbly topping texture.
Cool each layer completely before adding the next to prevent sogginess.
Good to Know
Cover and refrigerate up to 5 days. Store in airtight container.
Crust can be prebaked and cooled up to 2 days ahead. Apple filling can be made up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Assemble and bake same day for best texture.
Cut into squares and serve at room temperature or slightly warm. Pairs well with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Common Mistakes
Do not skip cooling the crust before adding filling to prevent a soggy base
Do not overmix the crumble topping to avoid a dense, cake-like texture instead of crumbly
Do not skip freezing the butter before cutting to ensure proper crumble texture
Do not bake uncovered crumble layer without filling to avoid burning before apples cook through
Substitutions
Dairy-Free Swaps
vegan alternative, may slightly alter flavor
Full guide →