Macadamia Free Honey-Nutmeg Apple Crumble Bars
Warm spiced apples, golden crumble, and a drizzle of honey — these bars hit every note you want from a fall-inspired bake. The base and topping come together from a single crumble mixture made with rolled oats, rice flour, and tapioca starch, which gives the bars a satisfying texture that holds together beautifully when sliced. Cold butter worked into that dry mix creates those irresistible pea-sized pockets that bake up crisp and golden on top while staying a little tender underneath. The apple filling gets its depth from ground nutmeg and honey rather than refined syrups or spice blends, so every ingredient is straightforward and easy to verify. For anyone navigating tree nut concerns, this recipe is naturally free of the usual suspects — no nut flours, no nut-based oils, just clean pantry staples doing all the heavy lifting. Letting the bars cool completely before cutting is the one step worth being patient about, since the tapioca starch needs time to set the filling into neat, sliceable layers. These are just as good the next day, making them a smart bake-ahead treat for lunchboxes, gatherings, or an afternoon snack with a cup of tea.
About FigFig is a food discovery app that helps you find foods and recipes that fit your dietary needs. Whether you have food allergies, intolerances, or follow a specific diet, Fig makes it easy to eat with confidence.
Learn more →Ingredients
9 servings
For the crust and crumble
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup rice flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into ½-inch cubes
For the apple filling
- 3 medium apples (about 1 ½ lb), peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch slices
- 3 tbsp honey
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two opposite sides to use as handles for lifting the bars out later.
- 2
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the rolled oats, rice flour, tapioca starch (the crust-and-crumble portion), granulated sugar, and fine sea salt until evenly combined. Add the cold butter cubes and work them in with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse, clumpy crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining — do not overwork it into a smooth dough.
Want the full recipe?
Create a Fig account for step-by-step instructions, access to our full recipe library, and more!