Appledoodle Bars
Delicious double cinnamon snickerdoodle cookie dough filled with apple pie filling and baked until perfectly crispy on the edge and chewy in the middle. These easy bars are bursting with vibrant fall flavors and have such a lovely variety of textures. They’re like apple pie with the best twist ever!
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This is one of those make it up as you go kind of recipes. I got this idea to make appledoodles years ago, but I never could narrow down exactly how I’d make that work. Do I stuff cookies with pie filling? Do I just add apples to cookie dough? Wouldn’t that be too wet and turn into apple cookie pancakes?
So, I searched and brainstormed and almost didn’t even make these because I wasn’t sure this would pan out (pun intended).
I’m soooo thankful I stuck it out and tried a thing. That thing was delicious and full of apple-y, cinnamon-y flavor. The cookies turned out nice and chewy, without being too wet and soggy (thanks to the extra flour used in snickerdoodles). And that filling. Man is it delicious. Gooey and caramel-y and nice and spicy (in a good way).
The key is to not cook the apples too much. The baking will cook them further, so you want fairly crunchy apples. Try to just cook it until the sauce thickens and you should be good.
Why this recipe works
The double cinnamon snickerdoodle dough is so simple yet so full of flavor. And, it’s sturdy! That’s often a hard balance to achieve in cookie bars—they often turn out dry (too much flour) or raw in the middle (too much liquid). I played around with my recipe until I was happy with the structure and chew, so that it can hold all of the apple pie filling without drying out.
The combination of a snickerdoodle cookie and apple pie filling is what makes these so delicious. The cookie is flavorful and chewy and the apples have a bit of crunch and a balanced caramel-y sauce that’s not too liquidy but not too dry. As well, the two recipes blend well because of their start ingredient: cinnamon! Together, they are one of my favorite mashup desserts.
Key ingredients
Sugar/brown sugar. You’ll use just a bit of brown sugar to the dough to add a bit more flavor and chewiness.
Cinnamon. Use a quality cinnamon, as the flavor difference really is noticeable in baked goods.
Flour. Be sure to spoon then level your flour, and don’t skip the sifting step!
Baking soda. This helps create the perfect rise.
Cream of tartar. Necessary in any snickerdoodle, this creates that classic flavor and texture.
Salt. Sea salt is ideal. Reduce to just a pinch if using salted butter.
Butter. Use unsalted, European style butter for a better texture. Make sure it is soft but not shiny. If it does become shiny, refrigerate for 10 minutes to firm it back up a bit.
Eggs. Make sure your eggs are fresh and room temperature.
Vanilla extract. Use pure, not imitation, vanilla.
Apple pie filling. I think these are perfect with my brown sugar bourbon apple pie filling, but my chai apple pie filling is also a great pairing. You can also use canned, but the apples may be a little soft or chopped too big for these bars, so use with caution.
How to make appledoodle bars
Make the apple pie filling
1. Peel, core, and chop the apples. Either slice the apples to be about 1/8” thick or chop them to about 1/4” pieces.
2. Mix with other ingredients and cook. Don’t cook too long—just 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens and the apples just begin to soften a little.
3. Let cool completely. You don’t want to spread hot filling over the dough, as it will cause the butter to melt before it’s baked, resulting in separation and greasy bars.
Make the double cinnamon snickerdoodle dough
4. Sift dry ingredients. Sifting keeps it tender.
5. Beat butter and sugars. I prefer a handheld mixer for these smaller ratios. Mix until light and fluffy.
6. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
7. Mix in dry ingredients. Mix on low just until combined.
Assemble bars
8. Press half the dough into a prepared pan. Be sure to get all the way to the edges and seal it a bit so the filling doesn’t seep under the dough.
9. Bake 10 minutes. This helps ensure the bottom is actually baked through.
10. Spread apples over par-baked dough. Spread evenly, pouring all of the sauce in, too.
11. Crumble remaining dough on top. There’s no right or wrong way to do this, but more even coverage makes these easier to stack when storing.
12. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. This is optional but also kind of necessary to make these true appledoodles.
13. Bake until filling bubbles and edges begin to turn golden. You can tent with foil if the edges brown before the filling bubbles.
14. Let cool 30 minutes in the pan. This helps them maintain their shape before you remove and cut them.
Enjoy!
Tips and FAQ’s for this recipe
What kind of apples should I use?
Any kind will do. Jonagold and Pink Lady are probably my favorites for baking, but they’re not always available at a lot of stores (I usually only find Jonagold/Jonathan apples when we go apple picking). Using a combination of tart and sweet apples is ideal, like Granny Smith and Gala or Honeycrisp. I just don’t recommend Fuji for baking—they turn mushy pretty quickly.
How do I know when the bars are baked?
You don’t want these to brown, like chocolate chip cookies. You want them to be completely matte in appearance, with the edges beginning to turn lightly golden. That’s it! These are incredibly tender bars, so avoid over baking them.
Can these be made ahead?
Yes! You can make the dough ahead and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. The apple pie filling will last 1-2 weeks in the fridge. Once you’ve assembled the bars, you could freeze them (raw) and increase the bake time by about 50% (depending on your oven). I’ve frozen the baked bars before, but they can dry out of not wrapped well, so only use that as a last resort and be sure to cover them very well.
Don’t overcook the apples
You really just want to cook the filling for 3-4 minutes, until the sauce thickens and the apples are just starting to soften. They’ll cook more when you bake the bars, so avoid cooking them too much. Be sure they’re still pretty crunchy, so that the final bars have the perfect texture.
Do I have to use European butter?
Personally, I think it makes a huge difference. It’s creamier and has a very different consistency than sweet cream butter. Since you only have a few ingredients here, you want to make sure each one is of the highest quality. But don’t worry—you can often find it at places like Costco on sale!
My tools
Here are my must-have tools I use for making these bars. Affiliate links provided.
Mesh sieve (because sifting is KEY for a perfect dough)
Appledoodle Bars
- prep time: 10-15 minutes
- cook time: 5-10 minutes
- bake time: 30-35 minutes
- total time: 1 hour (plus 30 minutes to cool)
servings: 12-16
Ingredients:
half a batch of apple pie filling (can sub chai spiced or use one large can of store bought)
for the snickerdoodle dough
- 2 ½ cups (340g) flour, spooned then leveled
- 1 teaspoon (3g) baking soda
- 2 teaspoons (6g) cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon (3g) sea salt
- 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter*, room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) light brown sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (13g) pure vanilla extract
for the topping
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (8g) ground cinnamon
Instructions:
make the apple pie filling
- Make the apple pie filling first, so it can cool. It will last at least 1-2 weeks in the fridge. Be sure not to cook it too long, only 3-4 minutes, so the apples are still crispy. Also, either slice them or chop into 1/4 inch pieces so they spread nicely over the dough.
make the snickerdoodle dough
- Preheat your oven to 350F/175C. Line an 8x8 pan with foil or parchment (you can overhang it on the sides and use chip or binder clips to hold it in place).
- Using a large fine mesh sieve, sift and whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt into a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer or a handheld mixer (I prefer the handheld because this is such a small batch). Beat on medium until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium until smooth, about 30-60 seconds each time. Add vanilla and beat on medium until very smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Beat in the flour mixture on low, just until combined.
assemble the bars
- Press ½ to ⅔ of the dough into your prepared pan, being sure to get all the way to the edges to seal that off and prevent the apple filling seeping underneath. Bake the base for 10 minutes.
- Spread the cooled apple pie filling evenly over the par-baked base. Sprinkle the remaining dough over the apples, trying to cover most of the apples.
- Mix the cinnamon and sugar topping in a bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the crumbled dough on top.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until poofed up a bit and the dough is no longer shiny and the edges begin to brown. The filling should also be bubbling along the edges and a bit in the middle. If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil.
- Let cool 30 minutes. Use the foil or parchment overhang to pull the bars up and place on a cutting board. Cut into 12-16 squares.
Enjoy!
Store in an airtight container. Bars will last 2-3 days at room temperature or 1 week refrigerated.
*Ideally, use European style butter (like Kerrygold) to get a better texture.
