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Apple Chunkies is a vintage recipe for sweet little bars stuffed with chunks of apples and walnuts and topped with a sweet glaze. No mixer required!
The Easiest Apple Bars Recipe
Among the huge stash of old recipes I was fortunate enough to inherit from my mother, we found a little pink notebook with even more recipes that she had written down.
The notebook contained mostly dessert recipes (my mom had quite the sweet tooth!) and this recipe called Apple Chunkies immediately caught our eye.
Apple Chunkies are super simple to make and a great choice when you need a quick and easy dessert for any occasion. No mixer required!
A sweet butter and vanilla batter is mixed in a bowl with chunks of apples and chopped walnuts – then baked. As the bars bake, you’ll mix up a simple glaze with butter and brown sugar, plus some milk.
Then pour the glaze over the top of your Apple Chunkies and allow it set before cutting to squares.
Reader Review
“This recipe is absolutely amazing!!!! My husband can eat the all the chunkies in one day, he needs to practice restraint for sure when I make these, and in the fall I make them a lot!! Thank you for this quick, tasty and easy recipe.” -Barbara
Key Ingredients
- Apples – Choose a baking apple for this recipe – one that is firm enough that it holds its shape after cooking, but will still be tender when done. Options include Honeycrisp, Fuji, Pink Lady, or Jonagold. Granny Smith can also be used but it will give the bars a more tart and pronouced apple flavor.
- Walnuts – Coarsely chop your walnuts to give these bars their namesake “chunky” texture.
- Unsalted Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Table Salt
- Egg
- For the Glaze – More unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and whole milk.
Baking Tips and Tricks
- The quantities in this recipe are perfectly portioned for an 8’x8″ pan. Don’t be tempted to use a 9″x9″ pan – the bars will come out too flat.
- If you want to double the recipe, baking in a 9″x13″ baking dish.
- Be sure to allow the baked apple bars to sit for five minutes after coming out of the oven, before you pour the glaze over. If the bars are still oven-hot, the glaze will soak in rather than sit on top.
- We love these Apple Chunkies while they are still slightly warm. (A scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side is a great option too!)
- As written, these apple bars have a sweet apple and vanilla flavor – and we love them! However, some readers felt they were too mild in flavor. You can add cinnamon or apple pie spice to the batter if you would prefer.
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Apple Chunkies
Apple Chunkies is a vintage recipe for sweet little bars stuffed with chunks of apples and walnuts and topped with a sweet glaze.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 whole egg
- 1 peeled and cored sweet red baking apple such as Honey Crisp, Fuji, or Pink Lady, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
For the Glaze (optional)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium pan melt butter and remove from heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in sugar to dissolve. Add vanilla and stir again.
- In a small bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt.
- Once the sugar mixture is cool, blend in the egg and mix thoroughly.
- Add the dry mix to the sugar mixture and stir to combine.
- Add the apples and nuts and stir.
- Butter an 8×8-inch pan and spread batter in evenly.
- Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
- While the pan bakes, place glaze mixture in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil on medium and stir for one minute. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Once the pan comes out of the oven, let sit for five minutes then spread the glaze over the top. If the glaze tightened up while the pan baked, heat slightly to a spreadable consistency. The glaze should be the consistency of a soft jam or spread and not runny.
- With a sharp knife, cut rows 3 x 4 into 12 pieces.
- With a spatula, remove each piece to a platter and cool, or serve slightly warm.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Apple Chunkies ahead of time? Yes, you can. Although we enjoy these apple bars still slightly warm out of the oven, they are equally good served at room temperature.
- How do I store leftovers? We suggesting covering the pan with plastic wrap. Then – because there is milk in the glaze – store in the refrigerator for up to three days (if they last that long!).
- Can I freeze leftover Apple Chunkies? Yes. Wrap each bar tightly in plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn. Just note that the glaze will probably smudge a bit from being wrapped. OR – you can freeze the entire tray before adding the glaze, then thaw and make the glaze just before serving.
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So easy and delicious! My family loved it!
Thanks Sabrina! Glad you are enjoying the recipe as much as we do!
Totally Perfect! Just the apple dessert I was looking for. I am tired of cinnamon in every apple dessert you can think of so this totally fit the bill – simple, caramel-y and chock full of tart apples ( I used Gravensteins) and walnuts – and no cinnamon! This recipe is a keeper, thanks!
Thanks Jan – glad you liked the recipe!
Great recipe! Can I double the recipe and bake in 9×13 pan? Thanks!
Sure Sunny – the baking time will probably differ a bit but a double recipe should fill a 9×13 pan. Enjoy!
I made the best apple cake and it was very good
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
These look delicious. Do they freeze well?
Thanks Hannah – Yes – you can freeze these (just wrap tightly before doing so!).
Hi!
Can you double the recipe for a 9×13 pan?
Looks delish! 🙂
Hi Dawn – My apologies for the delay in responding – we just turned from a family vacation last night. Sure – you can double the recipe and a 9 x 13-inch pan should be about right. The cooking time may vary so just watch it as it bakes!
Can these recipes be made into GF and if so what type of flour would you use . Looking forward to your response.
Hi Jackie – I’ve only made the recipe as written. I’ve heard good things about the King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour – that might be an option to try? Please let us know how it comes out!
Hi, I love your blog and enjoy trying many of your recipes during the week. I am making the apple chunkies now and as I added the sugar to the butter, it absorbed the butter as I was stirring and therefore did not really dissolve. Will this still have the same texture? Should I have done something differently? Thanks so much for sharing your family’s recipes!
Hi Lisa – Thank you so much! I think you’ll be fine! As it bakes in the oven the sugar should dissolve the rest of the way. Hope you enjoy the recipe and thanks for following our blog! We appreciate it!
Thank You for posting Your Mother’s recipe. I never knew this could be done! I was all out of milk and used water to make the glaze and still so good. ( next time I will be sure to have milk !) This sure is a keeper!
Thank you C! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Martha,
I must tell you a short story regarding a conversation I recently had with a friend who asked why I loved A Family Feast blog. I simply stated your recipes are honest,unpretentious, with enough creativity and family heritage to take them beyond ordinary.
To my delight, yesterday’s post proved my point, as did today’s recipe from your Mother.
With a bag of freshly picked pears sitting on my counter, I think I might try these in your Apple Chunkies recipe. The pears, an heirloom variety from a friend’s farm, are much firmer than market ripened pears. What do you think?
Your darling daughter is blessed to be growing up in such a loving family.
God bless,
Linda
Oh my goodness Linda – thank you! You’ve made my day and I can’t wait to show Jack your note when he gets home later today! It is exactly who we are – and I’m so glad it comes through! We just love cooking and sharing recipes (and love hearing that our readers enjoy them too!) So – yes – pears will absolutely work for this recipe! If you are worried about the pears being too firm even after baking, you could try sauteeing them in a pan with just a little bit of butter to soften them a little before adding them to the batter. Please let us know how it comes out! Thank you again for writing today! PS..We are blessed to have such a great little girl in our lives! 🙂 Have a wonderful day! Martha