Name: Apple Butter Bars
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 1/2 Cup Salted Butter, softened; 1/2 Cup Sugar; 1 Egg; 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract; 3/4 Cup Apple Butter; 1 Cup Unbleached, All Purpose Flour; 1 teaspoon Baking Powder; 1/4 Cup Salted Butter, softened; 1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar; 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon; 2 Tablespoons Milk

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If you’re looking for an easy fall-inspired dessert any time of year, look no further than this easy apple butter bars recipe.

This simple, flavorful recipe is a great way tto use apple butter that is sitting in the refrigerator or on the pantry shelf.

Rich and moist cake like bars are topped with a buttery cinnamon frosting for a decadent dessert great for easy meals and gatherings.

Dessert bars in slices sit on a floral cake plate. Text overlay reads: Apple butter bars with cinnamon frosting.

Start with Good Apple Butter

The apple butter is the thing that gives these bars flavor and moisture. Use a good quality apple butter.

I use my homemade maple apple butter, but something from the store will work. Use something lighter in sugar and made from simple ingredients, if you can find something made locally even better.

Do taste it first and adjust the sugar in the recipe as necessary. Go less, if the apple butter is extremely sweet for example.

Spice Choices

Because apple butter is generally spiced already, the recipe as written does not add more spice to the cake batter.

You could add more spice to the cake, if desired. Again, taste the apple butter and decide what you want to do.

For the frosting, you could use apple pie spice or any other spice you prefer instead of plain cinnamon.

Frosted apple butter bars sit, uncut, on a floral cake plate with a jar of apple butter in the background.

Double for a Crowd

Double the recipe and bake in a 9X13 inch pan for larger families or to share at a potluck.

These also freeze incredibly well, so feel free to save some for later.

Frosting Choices

Included in the recipe is a basic cinnamon frosting. There are other options of course.

Skip the cinnamon entirely for a basic vanilla frosting
A simple cream cheese frosting would be nice
Drizzle with a caramel glaze instead of frosting

Skip the frosting entirely and serve the cake with a scoop of ice cream and/or whipped cream instead.

A single frosted apple butter bar sits on a white plate. In the backround more bars sit on a floral cake plate.

Optional Additions

The bars are perfect just as the recipe is written. Simple, easy, delicious. However, if you want to try bulking up the recipe or adding some texture, consider adding:

Chopped nuts, up to 1/2 cup
Dried fruits, like raisins or dried apple bits – about 1/2 cup
Fresh, peeled & diced apples, again about 1/2 cup

How to Serve

These are designed to be a simple dessert to satisfy the sweet tooth without feeling the need to get fancy.

Serve them with your favorite beverage – hot or cold.

You could drizzle a little caramel sauce over the bars onto a plate for a beautiful and easy presentation.

How to Store

Keep any leftover bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where they should stay fresh for up to 5 days. If you don’t frost them, you could leave them sit on the counter.

For longer term storage, put the bars into freezer bags or other freezer containers and freeze. Use up any frozen bars within 6 months for best flavor.

Let frozen bars thaw in the refrigerator prior to serving.

Yield: 10 Servings