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    Easy Apple Squares (Cake Bars)

    Published: Sep 24, 2013 / 154 Comments

    142.6K shares
    • Facebook1.6K
    Recipe Print

    Easy apple squares are made with cinnamon and brown sugar.  These delicious cake bars are very moist, thanks to the vegetable oil and the plain Greek yogurt.

    sliced Apple Squares (apple cake bars) sprinkled with powdered sugar on parchment paper

    The apple squares are super easy and quick to prepare on a busy weeknight! If you're bored with making the same apple recipes, such as apple crisp,  crumble, or cobbler, try these little apple squares, and you'd be very happy!  These apple cake bars work great as both dessert and breakfast.  Talking about breakfast, have you tried these apple cinnamon pancakes with shredded apples?  Or, maybe you will enjoy this cozy apple crumb coffee cake?

    2 sliced Apple Squares (apple cake bars) sprinkled with powdered sugar on parchment paper

    Apple Squares with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar

    In this recipe, I am using a generous amount of apples, tossed together with cinnamon and brown sugar, folded in the cake batter and baked in a 9x9 square pan. These apple cake bars are really just a lot of apple chunks held together by a relatively small amount of cake batter. 🙂 After all, the apple dessert recipes should be all about apples, shouldn't they?

    The apple squares are very moist, thanks to the vegetable oil and the plain Greek yogurt.

    sliced Apple Squares (apple cake bars) sprinkled with powdered sugar on parchment paper

    Other apple desserts

    If you love all things apple, you will love these quick and easy apple desserts:

    • Sweet Cooked Apples
    • Apple Bundt Cake
    • Apple Crumb Coffee Cake
    • Apple, Blueberry Peach Coffee Cake

    Apple Breakfast recipes

    What could be better than enjoying a small slice of something sweet with apples in the morning? Here are my favorite apple breakfast recipes:

    • Pumpkin Banana Bread with Apples
    • Crepes with Ricotta Cheese and Caramelized Apples
    • Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
    • Apple Cinnamon Crepes

    Apple squares on parchment paper on a table

    apple cake bars
    4.88 from 103 votes

    Easy Apple Squares (Cake Bars)

    Super moist and easy-to-make apple squares.  Made with cinnamon, brown sugar, these delicious cake bars are very moist, thanks to the vegetable oil and the plain Greek yogurt. And they get even moister after the first day!   The apple squares are pretty much an apple cake sliced into imperfect squares.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr
    Total Time 1 hr 15 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 10 people
    Calories per serving 262 kcal
    Author: Julia

    Ingredients

    • 3 apples peeled, cored, and chopped into small square chunks
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • 4 tablespoons brown sugar
    • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour sifted
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ⅛ teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup white sugar
    • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
    • ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 eggs

    Instructions 

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×9 square pan.
    • In a medium bowl, toss chopped apples with cinnamon and brown sugar.
    • In a mixing bowl, combine together 1 and ¼ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ⅛ teaspoon salt.
    • In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup of white sugar, vegetable oil, yogurt, and vanilla until very smooth. Add eggs and whisk until smooth.
    • Add dry ingredients (flour mixture) into wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
    • Pour half of the batter into the greased pan, top with half of the apples, then pour the remaining half of the batter on top of the apple layer. Top with the remaining half of apples. 
    • Bake the cake for about 45 minutes or 1 hour - until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
    • Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Information
    Easy Apple Squares (Cake Bars)
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    262
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    8
    g
    12
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    6
    g
    38
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    33
    mg
    11
    %
    Sodium
     
    46
    mg
    2
    %
    Potassium
     
    143
    mg
    4
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    44
    g
    15
    %
    Fiber
     
    1
    g
    4
    %
    Sugar
     
    30
    g
    33
    %
    Protein
     
    3
    g
    6
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    75
    IU
    2
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    2.5
    mg
    3
    %
    Calcium
     
    41
    mg
    4
    %
    Iron
     
    1
    mg
    6
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

    Keyword apple cake bars, apple squares
    Tried this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment and provide a Star Rating below - I love your feedback and try to respond to every comment!
    « Crepes with creamy ricotta cheese filling and caramelized apples
    Greek yogurt chocolate chip muffins »
    142.6K shares
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    Please share your comment and Star Rating in the comments section below.

    I appreciate your feedback!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. elena

      May 31, 2014 at 11:45 am

      Just made them.They are by far the best apple squares ever!

      Reply
      • Julia

        July 08, 2014 at 2:43 pm

        Elena, thank you! So glad you liked them! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Joann Rosenberg

      March 13, 2014 at 8:16 am

      I made these apple squares and they are absolutely delicious. Does anyone know how many calories are in one square?

      Reply
    3. Lauren

      January 02, 2014 at 5:37 pm

      Can I substituted cake flour? Would it make it taste different?

      Reply
    4. Hannah

      December 28, 2013 at 6:00 pm

      I made these today for company and they were a huge hit. Plus, the recipe came together really quickly, which is always a bonus when getting ready for guests to arrive. I forgot to put the powdered sugar on, but they were still so delicious. Thank you for the quick and tasty recipe!

      Reply
      • Julia

        December 30, 2013 at 3:29 pm

        Hannah, so glad you liked these apple squares! It always makes my day to read comments like that! Powdered sugar is really only for the decorating purposes, so the recipe would not suffer much if you don't use it! 🙂

        Reply
    5. Sana

      December 24, 2013 at 6:30 pm

      Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! My family loved it and have been requesting more ever since! Am just making another batch 🙂

      Reply
      • Julia

        December 26, 2013 at 2:45 pm

        So glad you and your family liked these! 🙂 Thank you for stopping by and leaving such a sweet comment!

        Reply
    6. Nila

      December 09, 2013 at 4:07 pm

      Have you ever tried this recipe with other fruits such as blueberries. I think I will try it with blueberries tonight, that's all I have in the house and the weather is terrible out.

      Reply
      • Julia

        December 19, 2013 at 2:51 pm

        Nila, I have not tried these with blueberries, but why not? I should! 🙂

        Reply
    7. P

      November 08, 2013 at 9:51 am

      Delicious! I was out of yogurt so used sour cream instead. When I found this recipe I was just thinking.. yea, I'm tired of apple crisp, there has to be something else. Keep up the great recipes 🙂

      Reply
      • Julia

        November 12, 2013 at 2:24 am

        P :), thank you! I am the same way - I love apple crisp, but want something different with apples, hence I make this recipe and banana breads with apples, etc.

        Reply
    8. Barbara

      October 26, 2013 at 12:12 am

      I made these and really love them! I used Gala apples, but next time I want to use Granny Smith. They are so good with coffee or tea. I plan to make them again soon!

      Reply
      • Julia

        November 05, 2013 at 2:32 am

        Barbara, I am so glad to hear that you liked these apple squares! They are really good with both Gala and Granny Smith. The flavor will be distinctly different if you use sweeter Gala vs. tarter Granny Smiths but equally delicious! Using 2 different types of apples is like 2 different recipes really. 🙂

        Reply
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    Hi, I'm Julia! Welcome to my recipe blog where I share easy-to-make weeknight dinners and other recipes using simple ingredients!

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