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–+ servings
Gluten-Free Apple Crumble Bars
Three layers, each good on its own: a shortbread-like cookie base, cinnamon apples baked right on top of it, and an oat and pecan crumble. These bars are gluten-free and egg-free, and they stay vegan with dairy-free butter. In the Test Kitchen: not yet test-made in my kitchen.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
16 bars
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Cookie base (reserve 1/3 cup of the dough for the topping)

  • 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum 210 g
  • 1/3 cup cane sugar 67 g
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 8 Tbsp butter or dairy-free butter 113 g, softened, cut into tablespoons; dairy-free keeps the bars vegan

Crumble topping

  • 1/3 cup reserved cookie-base dough
  • 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar 25 g
  • 1/3 cup pecans 35 g, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats 20 g

Apple cinnamon filling

  • 3 cups chopped apples about 375 g, peeled and cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces, about 3 medium apples
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Heat and line. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang so you can lift the finished bars straight out of the pan.
  • Make the cookie base. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour blend, cane sugar, and salt on low speed for about 5 seconds (stand mixer or hand mixer). Add the butter one piece at a time and keep mixing until a dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Reserve and press. Measure out 1/3 cup of the dough and set it aside for the crumble. Press the remaining dough into an even layer in the prepared pan with your hands.
  • Bake the base. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the edges begin to brown.
  • Make the filling. While the base bakes, stir the chopped apples and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
  • Make the crumble. While the base bakes, put the reserved dough back in the mixing bowl with the brown sugar, pecans, and oats. Mix with a mixer, a pastry cutter, or your hands until combined and crumbly. Set aside.
  • Assemble. Pour the cinnamon apples over the hot cookie base and spread them evenly. Sprinkle the crumble over the top, pinching it between your fingers to make small clumps. Do not press the crumble into the filling.
  • Bake the bars. Bake for 22 minutes. Cover the pan with foil and bake 10 minutes more. Turn the oven off and leave the covered pan in the oven for 5 more minutes; the apples finish baking without the topping over-browning.
  • Cool and cut. Let the bars cool completely in the pan. Lift them out by the parchment onto a cutting board and cut into 16 bars.
Total time is plus cooling; the bars must cool completely before cutting.
Store in the refrigerator for several days.
The filling has no added sugar and no thickener; the apples bake down in place, which is why the covered finish in the turned-off oven matters.