Apple Butter Breakfast Bars

By Samantha Seneviratne

Updated September 10, 2025

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi.
Ready In
1 hr
Rating
4(48)
Comments
Read comments

These lightly sweetened, chewy little bars are made with rolled oats, apple butter, cinnamon and maple syrup — all the essentials for a cozy breakfast. Try them freshly baked with a hot latte, or top them with a little bit of yogurt, fresh berries and a drizzle of honey for a fun breakfast sundae. You could even finish the day with a square tucked under a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Is it cake? Is it a breakfast? You decide.

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Ingredients

Yield:9 to 12 servings

For the bars

  • 5 tablespoons/71 grams salted butter, melted, plus more for the pan

  • 2 large eggs

  • ½ cup/120 milliliters maple syrup 

  • 1 cup/128 grams all-purpose flour

  • ½ cup/50 grams old-fashioned rolled oats

  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), or ½ teaspoon fine salt 

  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 cup/260 grams apple butter

For the topping

  • 5 tablespoons/40 grams all-purpose flour

  • 2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats

  • 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted

  • 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar 

  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • Pinch salt

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (9 to 12 servings)

34 grams carbs; 49 milligrams cholesterol; 220 calories; 2 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 8 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 170 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 17 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. 

  2. Step 2

    Prepare the bars: In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the maple syrup and melted butter and whisk to combine. Add the flour, oats, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and baking soda and whisk until well-combined. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

  3. Step 3

    Dollop the apple butter evenly on top of the batter. Swirl it around just to make sure it’s evenly distributed. (Don’t worry about decorative swirls.)

  4. Step 4

    Make the topping: In the same bowl, stir together the flour, oats, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Squeeze the mixture into clumps and sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter. 

  5. Step 5

    Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center (avoiding pockets of apple butter) comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. 

  6. Step 6

    To serve, use the parchment paper overhang to lift the bar out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 9 or 12 even pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. (You could also freeze for up to 3 months; thaw at room temperature before serving.)

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Ratings

4 out of 5
48 user ratings
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Comments

Q

Made last night for breakfast this morning. Will make again with some revisions: - the cake layer is a bit dry, so probably use 4 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp oil - the cake layer is pretty thin, so probably bake in an 8x8 than the recommended 9x9 - for better balance, use less apple butter--I used all of a 225g jar and it was too much - apple butter flavor dominates, so choose one that you'd eat on its own and strongly recommend one with spices as opposed to pure apple - 50% more crumble!

Scope1

Can you replace apple butter with a thick apple sauce?

Irene

I make apple butter year round as I use it in my weekly oatmeal prep. An assortment of apples goes in the slow cooker, skins on, sliced and cored. Check the "going off" packages of apples packged in wild assortments for a real flavor burst. Discard bruised areas and add vanilla and sweetner if needed or cinnamon or pumpkinn spice blend. Freezes well...the price is unbeatable!

Christina

I’m a terrible baker so sorry for the ignorant question: if I want to reduce the maple syrup to have less sugar, could I need to replace some with another liquid (like water or milk or juice?) I want to use less maple syrup so these are less sweet for my toddler ( I made my own apple butter with barely any sugar), but I don’t want to end up with bricks by reducing the maple syrup by half (I know sugars keep cakes moist and they are beneficial for more than just flavor, but I still would like to lower the sugar amount without using any artificial sweeteners). Thanks!

Mary

Kind of underwhelming. Not chewy at all and too much apple butter. It basically covered the entire top. The crumble wasn’t very crumbly. Not a keeper, sorry

G Man

Made according to the directions and it was WAY too dry, no moistness in the base layer at all.

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