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Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides to easily lift the bars out later. Lightly grease the parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and salt for the crust and crumble topping. Add the cold, cubed unsalted butter and cut it into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining.

Stir in the rolled oats until just combined. Press about two-thirds of this mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan to form the crust. Reserve the remaining one-third of the mixture for the crumble topping.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the diced Granny Smith apples, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, lemon juice, cornstarch, and vanilla extract. Toss gently until the apples are evenly coated.

Spread the apple filling evenly over the pressed crust in the baking pan. Crumble the reserved topping mixture over the apple filling.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the apple filling is bubbly and tender. If the topping browns too quickly, you can loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil.

Remove the pan from the oven and let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before lifting them out using the parchment paper overhang. This is crucial for the bars to set properly.

While the bars cool, prepare the optional glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add a few more drops of milk; if too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.

Once the bars are completely cool, drizzle the glaze over them. Let the glaze set for a few minutes before slicing and serving.


Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides to easily lift the bars out later. Lightly grease the parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and salt for the crust and crumble topping. Add the cold, cubed unsalted butter and cut it into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining.

Stir in the rolled oats until just combined. Press about two-thirds of this mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan to form the crust. Reserve the remaining one-third of the mixture for the crumble topping.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the diced Granny Smith apples, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, lemon juice, cornstarch, and vanilla extract. Toss gently until the apples are evenly coated.

Spread the apple filling evenly over the pressed crust in the baking pan. Crumble the reserved topping mixture over the apple filling.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the apple filling is bubbly and tender. If the topping browns too quickly, you can loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil.

Remove the pan from the oven and let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before lifting them out using the parchment paper overhang. This is crucial for the bars to set properly.

While the bars cool, prepare the optional glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add a few more drops of milk; if too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.

Once the bars are completely cool, drizzle the glaze over them. Let the glaze set for a few minutes before slicing and serving.
