These apple bars are easy to make with a cake mix crust! This is my first of many apple recipes this fall.
One of my favorite things about fall is apple desserts and apple recipes! Every year we spend a day or two at apple orchards in the area. They are already open for the season but we usually wait until later in September and into October to go. A couple of weekends ago, we ate at one of the apple orchard’s restaurants with some friends of ours. I was impressed with their selection of baked treats and am going to try to make some of them. Before, I get started on those recipes, I wanted to try making Apple Bars. My idea was to make more of a cookie bar so I used my recipe for White Chocolate M&M Cookie Bars as the base. Since the apples have a lot of moisture in them the base is softer and less sturdy than the cookie bars base was.
The base of the bars is a spice cake mix, 1 stick of butter and an egg. The second layer is 2 chopped Granny Smith apples coated with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. The third layer is roughly chopped pecans. The final layer is one can of sweetened condensed milk.
Bake the bars for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.
The bars are delicious! If you want to remove them from the pan, allow the bars to cool first.
Or serve them warm, directly from the pan with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of caramel and some chopped pecans.
- 1 spice cake mix
- 1 stick butter softened
- 1 egg
- 2 Granny Smith apples
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix together cake mix, egg and butter.
- Pat into a parchment lined, greased 9×13″ pan.
- Peel and chop apples.
- Toss with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Sprinkle chopped apples over the cake batter in the pan.
- Top with chopped pecans.
- Drizzle with sweetened condensed milk.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Tina Clemons says
This looks really delicious but if I am going to attempt to do it I need something friendly for diabetes prone health. Is there a substitute for the condensed milk?? As in maybe using 2% and some powdered sugar instead? I have to be careful not to overdo my sugar carbs and that just has too much sweetness to it. As much as I would like to use it I shouldn’t. The tart apples get enough sweetness from the cake mix and I would add nuts to this of course! Is that possible to do and still be accepted to eat for a dessert??
Mattie says
I can hardly wait to try this mouth watering recipe. Can you freese the bars? Before or after baking?
Tonia says
I would freeze them after baking them. Happy Baking! ~Tonia
Madison says
Hi! I want to make this recipe for Thanksgiving but I spend the holiday at another house and would have to transport the dessert. How would I approach re-warming the bars when I arrive at the house? I would really like to serve them warm and with ice cream. Thank you!
Tonia says
Hey Madison! Sorry I’ve been away from my computer. Had a grooms dinner last night and baking/cooking for Thanksgiving today. I would just warm them up in the microwave. Start with 30 seconds and check them. Keep heating in 15 second intervals until warm. Enjoy! ~Tonia