Apple Kuchen Bars are rich, delicious layered bars with a subtly buttery crust, spiced filling, and a melt in your mouth sweet topping.
These apple bars are a delicious twist on a traditional German cake recipe. For more easy-to-share Dessert Bars, try my Apple Crumb Bars and Apple Brownie Bars.
Why You’ll Love Apple Kuchen Bars?
- All of the comfort of an apple dessert in an easy to serve bar with its buttery crust, warmly spiced apples, and a crumbly topping.
- Baked in a 9×13 baking pan ensures there are plenty of bars to share, which makes this a great option for fall gatherings.
Sabrina’s Apple Kuchen Bar Recipe
Whether you are craving fruit pie or cake but can’t decide, these layered Apple Kuchen Bars are the perfect dessert to make. They are so simple to create, and are full of buttery, cozy fall flavor. Plus, some of the variations listed below will give you plenty of other tasty options. This recipe makes a big batch that lasts for days so you can enjoy them all week long. Serve with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream, topped with Whipped Cream or get extra decadent with a Salted Caramel Sauce drizzle.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter , frozen and diced
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup ice water
Filling:
- 7 Granny Smith apples , peeled, cored and sliced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Topping:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , frozen and diced
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9 x 13″ baking pan with baking spray.
- To your food processor add the flour, salt and butter, pulsing until it makes a coarse crumb.
- Add in the egg, pulse together, then add in the water, through the chute while pulsing until the dough comes together.
- Press into the baking pan evenly and bake for 18 minutes.
Filling:
- Toss the apples with the lemon juice.
- Mix together sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, then coat apples evenly in the sugar mixture.
- Add the apples over the crust.
Topping:
- To your food processor add the flour, sugar and butter, pulsing until it makes a coarse large crumbs.
- Sprinkle the mixture over the apples.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. If your apples are large, this may take an additional 10 minutes or so.
- Allow bars to cool completely before cutting.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note
The most common baking apples are Granny Smith, Braeburn, Fuji, or Gala. Firm, tart apples balance out the sweetness, bring a lot of flavor, and hold their shape. When I have to use apples in a recipe like this, I like to keep the slices at the same thickness so they soften evenly as the bars bake.
Table of contents
Can this be made ahead of time?
These are a great dessert to make ahead. Bake them up to a day in advance, and let them cool completely before covering tightly and storing at room temperature.
How to Store
- Serve: You can keep these at room temperature for up to 4 days covered loosely or in a sealed container. If you keep them in a container with a lid, line it with a paper towel to keep the crusts soft.
- Store: Make sure these are cooled to room temperature before storing in an airtight container so moisture doesn’t collect. Keep refrigerated for about a week for best taste and crust texture.
- Freeze: Freeze the cut bars on a baking sheet in a single layer for about an hour before transferring to a sealed container. They will stay good for about 6 months. You can reheat them in the oven or just thaw uncovered to room temperature.
Variations
- Fruit: You could make these bars with fresh stone fruit like cherries, peaches, or plums. Thinly slice the pitted fruit like you would the apples and make as usual. Combos like apple-cherry or peach-plum would be delicious too!
- Apple Pie Spice: Give these even more of an apple pie flavor with apple pie spice. Use 2 teaspoons of apple pie spice blend for the apple filling. For the spice blend mix 4 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cardamom, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, and ½ teaspoon allspice.
- Cinnamon: Make a cinnamon sugar topping by adding 2-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon to the topping mixture. You could also add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the crust dough.
- Nuts: Give these Apple Bars crunch with chopped up toasted pecans, slivered almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts. To toast nuts, put them in a dry pan and heat over medium heat until they are fragrant.
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