Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients:

For The Apple Filling

  • 3 cups (450g) peeled, chopped Red Prince apples, cut into ½-inch (1-¼ cm) pieces (approximately 5 to 6 Red Prince apples)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ¼ cup (55g) packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons rye flour (regular all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, or spelt flour can be substituted)
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

For The Rye Flour Crust

  • 2 cups (240g) rye flour
  • ½ cup (110g) packed brown sugar
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (113g) butter, melted, slightly cooled

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line an 8-inch (20-cm) square baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Make The Apple Filling - In a large bowl, stir together the chopped apples and lemon juice. Add the brown sugar, rye flour, white sugar, cinnamon, and salt and continue to stir the apples until everything is well combined. Set aside.
  3. Make The Crust/Topping - Add the rye flour, brown sugar, and salt for the crust/topping to another bowl. You can whisk these ingredients together, however, I use my hands to mix in order to break up any larger clumps of brown sugar.
  4. Pour the melted butter into the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir everything together with a fork or rubber spatula to start. To finish, set down the fork and rub the rye flour and butter together between your fingers and thumbs to fully combine.
  5. Scoop out approximately 1 cup (120 g) of rye flour crumble from the bowl and set it aside. Dump the rest of the rye flour mixture into the prepared baking dish. Use your fingers to spread the flour evenly across the bottom of the dish, then use your hands to press and compact the layer down as the bottom crust.
  6. Top the crust with the Red Prince apple mixture. Use a rubber spatula or fork to spread out the apple layer evenly.
  7. Scatter the remaining 1 cup of rye flour mixture that was set aside over the top of the apples. Place the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake the apple crumble bars for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the topping is golden and the fruit is bubbling. Cool completely before slicing and serving.