Did you know that you can hire someone to help your kid stop sucking his thumb?
Until about a month ago, my son was a die-hard thumb sucker. He was just super attached to it. And when he didn’t have a thumb in his mouth, his shirt collar worked, too. I was getting tired of all the damp, stretched out shirt collars. Not to mention the thought of orthodontia bills down the road!
Our dentist connected us with a miracle worker I call The Thumb Lady, and now he’s habit-free! And since he’s not putting his thumb in his mouth, he now has space for other things. Like these amazing bars.
If you want an apt description of this dessert, it’s an delicious cross between an apple pie and an apple crisp, but in a bar. With tons of crumbs. Like, enough crumbs to please even the pickiest crumb fiend (ahem, that’s me). The middle layer is made of apple pie filling, which means less effort for you!
In fact, this recipe is pretty user-friendly, start to finish. The ingredients for the crumb base and the bottom crust are one and the same, and get made in a mixer in literally seconds. You could also mix by hand using your fingers or a pastry cutter, but that would take just a few minutes more.
When you’re done, you have a lovely dessert that works great anywhere. I used it for a late-season BBQ dessert, but with fall coming, the possibilities are endless!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 egg
- 2 and 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 cup oats
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 can apple pie filling
Preheat the oven to 350. Coat an 8 x 8 pan with cooking spray.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the dry ingredients by hand briefly. Then put the bowl on the mixer base and put the butter and egg in the bowl. Beat for 1-2 minutes until the mixture becomes crumbly.
Press half of the mixture into the pan. Spread the apple pie filling evenly over the base. Crumble the remaining dough over the top.
Bake until golden, from 35-40 minutes. Cool and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container.
I had no idea that you could hire someone to stop thumb-sucking! Although I guess that doesn’t quite surprise me these days! 🙂 These bars look incredible, Mir! You had me at apple crumble, probably my favorite way to eat an apple dessert! Pinned!
Gayle @ Pumpkin ‘N Spice recently posted…Sausage and Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
I’m starting to learn that there are a million professions out there for anything. The thumb thing was truly amazing! And thanks for the pin, Gayle! I love crumble.
Mir these look really delicious!
ami@naivecookcooks recently posted…“Triple Fun” Chocolate Bars
Thanks, Ami! That’s what I’m going for! 🙂
These bars looks amazing!!! Apple crumble is my favorite thing probably ever, and I love that you made it portable! 🙂
Rachel @ Bakerita recently posted…Pistachio White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Portable is best when it comes to snacks! Especially crumb-topped ones. Thanks, Rachel!
That is pretty funny, what exactly does the thumb lady to do get him to stop? What an interesting job that would be! I love these apple bars! They really do look like the perfect mix between apple pie and apple crisp!
Isadora @ she likes food recently posted…Three Bean Loaded Veggie Chili
I can’t divulge her secrets, but let’s just say that she’s a total genius. 🙂
Thanks, Isadora! That’s what I had in mind!
I love apple crisps and I definitely love apple pie so the combination of the two into these bars sounds and looks incredibly delicious.. craving a bite of one right now!
They do combine the best of both, Thalia!