Healthy Apple Pie Bars
Healthy Apple Pie bars are the best fall dessert. Made with coconut flour and coconut sugar. These are gluten-free, dairy-free, and paleo!
Servings: 9 1 bar servings
Calories: 270kcal
Ingredients
Crust
- 1/3 cup ghee melted and cooled
- 2/3 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Filling
- 3 cups apples peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces.
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon tapioca flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Apple Pie Bar Topping
- 2 tablespoon coconut flour
- 3 tablespoon ghee melted
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon coconut sugar
Optional Caramel Sauce with Sea Salt
- 3/4 cup coconut milk full fat in a can. Shake it well so it’s not separated
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon Maldon sea salt or other flake sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Make the crust: With a fork, mix together the Ghee, egg, coconut flour, tapioca flour, egg, maple syrup vanilla and salt. The mixture will seem loose, but the coconut flour soaks up so much liquid it will quickly become a crust texture.
- Press the mixture into an 8x8 pan sprayed with cooking spray. You could also line a pan with parchment paper. Bake the crust for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Make the apple filling: While the crust bakes - make the filling. In a small bowl mix together the tapioca flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and pinch of salt. Set aside.
- Peel and dice the apples. Over medium heat, cook the apples, lemon juice, maple syrup, water and coconut sugar until softening and bubbling at a low boil. This will take about 5-6 minutes.
- When the mixture is bubbling add in the tapioca and spices and mix together. It will dissolve and the mixture will thicken quickly. Reduce the heat to low and stir it continuously another 5 minutes. Move it off the heat. Allow to cool slightly.
- Making the topping: While the filling cools - mix all ingredients for the apple pie bar topping in a small bowl with a fork until a crumble texture forms. Set aside.
- To Assemble Bars: Take the baked crust (should be just cooled to the touch) and pour in the apple mixture. Break up the apple pie bar topping and mix evenly over the top of it.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely to room temperature before cutting. This will take about 1-2 hours.
Optional Caramel Sauce:
- Over medium high heat add the coconut milk and coconut sugar. Whisk constantly until the mixture boils. It will boil up pretty violently. This takes about 4-5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat until it’s at a low boil and continue cooking for 12-16 minutes until it’s thickened and reduced. Whisk constantly so the sugar does not burn.
- The mixture will coat the back of a spoon. When you put your finger down it the mixture will not come back together. Allow it too cool completely. Store any leftovers in the fridge for 1 -2 weeks.
Video
Notes
Gala, fuji, or honeycrisp apples work great for this recipe but you can use just about any apple and these will turn out delicious!
The apple pie bar dough and topping is a lightened version of the real thing, using coconut flour, tapioca flour, and coconut sugar, we made these taste like the real thing with better ingredients!
The key is to letting these cool for at least 1 hour but preferably 2. This gives them time to set and come together.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bar (out of 9) Does not include caramel sauce | Calories: 270kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 110mg | Potassium: 98mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 49IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg