Look out. I’m warning you right now that this recipe is addictive…
My roommate, Christin, introduced me to these bars last week. I was just finishing a 12-hour day of work around 9pm and found a text from her inviting me to try these “new apple bars” when I got home. Never one to turn down homemade dessert, and super-hungry after a long day, I immediately grabbed one when I walked in the door. And oh my word. Looking at the recipe beforehand, I was expecting good. These were great!!! They are are everything a sweet, fruity, cinnamony, chewy bar should be.
Pretty sure I immediately made a second batch to bring to a choir potluck last night. Although this time I substituted in white whole wheat flour and added in some nutmeg, and loved the result! Definitely a great quick, delicious, and crowd-pleasing recipe to keep on file. I’m pretty sure it will be reappearing in my kitchen again verrrrry soon. :)
Apple Cinnamon Raisin Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (or white whole-wheat flour)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 cups packed light-brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 Golden Delicious apple, diced into 1/4″ cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
- In a medium-size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmg and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, blend together sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla for 3 minutes or until smooth. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour mixture; mix for 2 minutes or until just incorporated. Stir in diced apples, raisins and (optional) nuts, and spread into prepared pan.
- Bake at 350F degrees for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting into bars and serving.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!Ali’s Tip:
This would also be delicious using pears instead of apples!
Source:
Adapted from Family Circle.
This is my go-to bar recipe for any and all “bars.” Substitute the apples/cinnamon/raisins for chocolate chips/nuts or any other filling. I’ve found they bake nicer if you don’t mix the chocolate chips into the batter, but sprinkle over after pouring into the pan. This is an absolutely perfect core-bar recipe.
I made these using gluten free flour and coconut oil lovely will make again
I had some raisins to use up and googled what I could make with them other than oatmeal raisin cookies (?) and stumbled upon this. These came out perfectly! I used white wheat flour and added walnuts. I’m not a raisin lover- and I honestly can’t stop eating them. Thanks for the gem of a recipe!
Can you use can pears instead or must it be fresh pears? I have lots of canned pears from the food pantry.
Sometimes I make two or three different recipes at the same time. My 5 yr old grand daughter is in the kitchen with me at the moment as I’m not only making this recipe but am also concocting some raisin scones and some apple fritters. She was trying to help out and grabbed a cup of milk I had sitting out for one of the other recipes and quickly poured it into the creamed portion of this recipe. Rather than scold her or toss evertyhing out and start over, I decided to go ahead and bake it. We’re now waiting to see what the extra moisture will do. Something tells me that it will look and taste just fine – but with more of a cake texture than a bar texture, perhaps.
Here’s an update to the post I made earlier. These raisin bars turned out awesome – but were a little cake-like due to the 1 cup milk which was accidentally added (recipe didn’t call for milk). Despite the error with the milk, everyone in my household could hardly wait to try them because the smell of cinnamon was so tantalizing while they were baking. Though I’m sure they’d be delicious served cold or at room temperature, my family all agree that they’re especially delicious served warm with a glass of cold milk.
These are very good! I may leave out the nutmeg next time, but I had to take some to the neighbors to keep from eating the whole pan!!
I can’t stop making these. I ate the first batch on my own over the course of a weekend. Then I made a batch for my coworkers just so I could have more without feeling so bad about it. I’m about to try again, but substitute some dried cranberries for the raisins and add a smidge of clove. I would describe them as having a fudgy brownie texture but tasting like an apple pie. Just make them, you will not be disappointed.
We love this recipe! I use 3-4 apples rather than just one and I often combine apples and pears. Today I have tried substituting some of the sugar with maple syrup. Hopefully it will be just as good.
I just loved to do (and eat) it.
So easy and delicious!!!
So lovely!!!
Thanks =D