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Recipe

Healthy Apple Pie Bars

These healthy apple pie bars include a buttery shortbread crust, layers of thinly sliced cinnamon apples, and a crumb topping sweetened with maple syrup. The ingredients are simple, so these are paleo apple pie bars, too! A handheld version of apple pie with all the flavors of fall!

Prep: 40Cook: 30Total: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 12 1x

Ingredients

Crust:

  • ¾ cup blanched almond flour
  • ¼ cup coconut flour
  • 3 tablespoons tapioca flour
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

  • 3 large apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg

Crumb topping:

  • ¾ cup blanched almond flour
  • ¼ cup tapioca flour
  • ¼ cup coconut sugar
  • 3 tablespoons chopped raw pecans
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ⅓ cup coconut oil, solid at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with a parchment paper sling so the paper drapes over two sides.
  2. Make the Crust: In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, and sea salt. Add the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla to the bowl, and fold everything together until a dough forms. Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 8 minutes.
  3. Make the Filling: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the apple slices, coconut sugar, lemon juice, and maple syrup. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the tapioca flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the saucepan and stir until dissolved. Once cooled, add the apple mixture on top of the crust in the pan and spread evenly.
  4. Make the Topping: Combine the almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut sugar, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the solid coconut oil to the bowl and cut it into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or fork. Cut the coconut oil into the dry ingredients so that it crumbles into smaller and smaller pieces. Once the coconut oil is fully incorporated, add the maple syrup and gently mix the topping with the fork until a wet crumble forms. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly overtop of the apples in the pan.
  5. Bake: Return the pan to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
  6. Cool: Let the apple pie bars cool completely before cutting them into twelve even squares. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Serve with a drizzle of powdered sugar glaze, vanilla ice cream, or 4-ingredient vegan caramel sauce.

Notes

  • To make baking go a bit quicker, peel and slice the apples as part of your prep work before you make the crust.
  • While any variety of apple will work, crisp and slightly sweet apples like Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and Golden Delicious work great for this recipe.
  • Eating the bars warm is tempting, but letting them cool is necessary to cut the apples. The bars are best eaten at room temperature or chilled. 
  • For a powdered sugar glaze: Mix up ¾ cup organic powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons coconut milk, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Pour over the apple pie bars just before serving.
© Coconuts & Kettlebells

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