You are going to love these apple crisp bars, which are like the apple pie version of date squares but better: an apple sauce filling between layers of oat crumble. These apple squares make an excellent dessert or snack.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190 °C). Prepare an 8×8-inch square pan by lightly greasing it, and lining the base and sides with parchment paper. Set aside.
Crumble
To prepare the crumble mixture: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, oats, and light brown sugar. Add the melted butter and continue stirring until the mixture is evenly moistened with the wet ingredients and begins to clump. Set aside.
Apple filling
In a small saucepan, whisk together the light brown sugar, the cornstarch and the cinnamon. Add the apple sauce and whisk well to combine and to be sure there are no lumps of cornstarch. Put the saucepan on a burner and heat over medium, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil, thickens and turns very glossy. Take the saucepan off the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Assembly & baking
Sprinkle half the crumble mixture in the base of the lined pan, and using a flat-bottomed glass, press it firmly so that the crust is even. Be sure to get into the corners too. Top the crust with the apple mixture, smooth it out evenly, then sprinkle the rest of the crumble over top, patting it in gently just to secure it.
Bake the squares for about 40 minutes or until the edges begin to recede and the top is golden.
Let cool before cutting or it might be a little messy (but oh so good!).
Notes
For this recipe, I used:
large flake or rolled oats, which you can find on Amazon
Mott's apple sauce which you can also find on Amazon