Gluten Free Apple Pie Bars
An easier and equally delicious way to fulfill that apple pie craving is to take all those same flavors and bake them up as bars! These Gluten Free Apple Pie Bars have all the deliciousness of an apple crumb pie without the time needed to actually make one! It uses nutrient-dense almond flour to make the crust and the crumble on top and is filled with sweet cinnamon-y apples.
Servings: 12
Ingredients
For Apple Filling:
- 2 medium granny smith apples peeled, cored and diced to 1/2"
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon water
For Crust and Crumble:
- 3 cups 288g almond flour
- 2 tablespoons 15 grams tapioca flour
- ⅓ cup coconut oil or butter melted
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup see note
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Add apples, apple cider, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, spices and salt and to a medium pot and stir to combine. Turn heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring frequently for 8-10 minutes until the exuded liquid from the apples has reduced and the apples are soft, but not broken apart.
- In a small bowl make a slurry using tapioca and water and add it to the apple mixture, stirring continuously. Cook for 1 minute or until the mixture has thickened up.
- Cool apple pie filling slightly.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and line an 8x8 baking dish with a parchment paper sling.
- Make the crust and crumble mixture: In a large bowl add almond flour, tapioca, coconut oil, maple syrup, and salt and mix well until it turns into large crumbles. Place ⅔ of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and press down evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the crust looks nearly all baked.
- Pour the apple mixture into parbaked crust and sprinkle the remaining crumble mixture on top and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the crumble is lightly browned and the filling is bubbling along the edges.
- Let cool completely before cutting.
- Store in the refrigerator.
Notes
While these are bars, due to the almond flour they’re a bit trickier to eat handheld. They are best served on a plate with a fork. They’re perfect served as is, but go ahead and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you want!
These bars are best served within two days after making. You can store overnight in a covered container at room temperature, or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.