Apple Pomegranate Crumble Bars (Gluten-free)

• These apple crumble bars have all the layered goodness of apple pie, but without the fuss of pastry.
• They have a simple shortbread-style base made with a combination of almond flour, oat flour and rolled oats. They're topped with sweet caramelized apples and pop-in-your-mouth pomegranate arils, then topped with more oatmeal crumble.
• A streamlined recipe! This apple pie bar recipe uses the same mixture for both the base and the crumble topping.
• What makes these apple squares different from regular gluten-free apple crumble bars? That layer of ruby-red pomegranates!  It adds a punch of colour and flavour and they make little happy explosions in your mouth with every bite.

If you love easy crumble bars, you'll love these Gluten-Free Cranberry Lemon Oatmeal Bars, too. Sweet, but not too sweet, they have notes of bright lemon and they’re bursting with cranberries!

These gluten-free Apple Cheesecake Crumble Bars are also amazing! Drizzle them with caramel sauce and serve them for a memorable dessert! And if you have summer peaches, you'll love these naturally sweet Peach Crumble Bars.

Before we get to the full recipe for apple pomegranate crumble bars, here are a few notes about some of the ingredients.

• apples: any sweet variety will work well in this recipe. I like to use a firm type, like Fuji, Honeycrisp or Braeburn.
• pomegranate: you can use either fresh or frozen pomegranate arils.
• almond flour: use finely ground almond flour, available in the baking section of your supermarket, or at Costco or Amazon.
• oat flour: grind rolled oats, also known as old-fashioned oats, in a blender to make oat flour.
• sweetener: you can use maple syrup, brown sugar, or coconut sugar.
• butter: you can substitute coconut oil if you'd like.
• thickener: you can use tapioca starch or cornstarch.

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Leave the edges overhanging to allow for easy removal once the apple crumble squares have baked.

1. Combine the base ingredients in a medium bowl, then transfer to your prepared baking pan. The easiest way to get the base evenly distributed in the pan is to add it in spoonfuls instead of all at once.
2. Use your fingers or the base of a drinking glass to press the base firmly into the pan before baking. Remember to set aside ¼ of the base mixture (about 1 cup) for the crumble topping. Bake the crust.
3. In a saucepan, combine diced apples with spices, salt, tapioca starch and brown sugar or maple syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 - 7 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. This will be the filling for these apple pie bars.
4. Spread the apple filling evenly over the cooked base.
5. Sprinkle with pomegranate arils.
6. Top with the remaining crumble topping, pressing down gently to hold in place.
7. Bake for 20 - 24 minutes at 350°F. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes then carefully lift the parchment paper "handles" to transfer to a cooling rack.

It's best to store these crumble bars in the fridge. They will last for several days.

These apple crumble bars freeze well, too. Store in an airtight container with a sheet of parchment paper between layers. They'll last for three months or so.