These are the best healthy apple bars! You will love the apple crumble topping and you would never guess that these dessert bars are gluten free and dairy free.
Step 1: Peel the apples and cut them into 1.5cm x 1.5cm pieces. Fill a sauce pan with layer (~1cm) of water and place on medium heat. Add the apples to the pan and cook for ~20 mins or until the apples are soft.
Step 2: Preheat your oven to 350F. Add the crust ingredients to your standing mixer (except for the 1/2 cup almond flour and orange zest) and blend on low until smooth.
Step 3:Take approximately 2/3 of your crust mixture and press into the bottom of an 8" x 8" pan so that you have a layer about 1 cm thick.
Step 4: Place the pan in oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until crust edge turns golden brown.
Step 5: Transfer the cooked apples to a large bowl (without the liquid), then add the rest of the filling ingredients and blend with a pastry blender until soft and tender.
Step 6: Layer the apples evenly over the baked crust.
Step 7: Add the 1/2 cup almond flour and orange zest to the remaining crust ingredients and blend well with a spoon or pastry blender. Then top the apple layer with the mixture.
Step 8: Place the pan in oven to bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the top layer becomes a golden brown. When they are done baking, let the bars cool, then cut them into pieces.