🕒 Prep Time: 20 mins
🕒 Bake Time: 40–45 mins
🍽️ Makes: 9–12 bars
Ingredients
✨ Crust & Crumble (shared base and topping):
- 2 ½ cups (310g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100g) brown sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup (225g) vegan butter or coconut oil, cold and cubed
- 1–2 tbsp cold water, if needed
🍏 Apple Filling:
- 4 medium apples (peeled, cored, thinly sliced or diced)
- ¼ cup (50g) brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg (optional)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
✅ 1. Prep
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang for easy removal.
✅ 2. Make the Crust & Crumble
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add cold vegan butter and cut in with a pastry cutter or fork until crumbly (like wet sand).
- Press about 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a firm crust.
- Reserve the remaining 1/3 for the crumble topping.
✅ 3. Prepare the Apple Filling
- In a bowl, toss the apples with brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg (if using), lemon juice, and vanilla until evenly coated.
✅ 4. Assemble
- Spread the apple mixture evenly over the crust.
- Sprinkle the remaining crumble on top.
✅ 5. Bake
- Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until golden brown and the apples are tender.
- Let cool completely in the pan for clean bars (they’ll firm up as they cool).
✅ 6. Serve
- Slice into bars and enjoy plain or with vegan vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of vegan caramel sauce.
💡 Tips
- Granny Smith + Honeycrisp make a great tart-sweet combo.
- Add chopped walnuts or pecans to the crumble for texture.
- Store in an airtight container for 3–4 days (fridge recommended for longer freshness).
