Apple Crumble Fruit Bars

­­Apple Crumble Fruit Bars

These home-baked bars are just sweet enough for kids to gobble up, but are made with apples, pears and Juicy Juice^® 100% juice, apple flavor. They have an irresistible buttery crust that doubles as a crumb topping.

Ingredients

Apple Filling

1 cup Juicy Juice^® 100% juice, apple flavor

2 large sweet apples, such as golden delicious, peeled, cored and diced into ½-inch pieces (about 2 cups)

1 ripe pear, preferably Bartlett, peeled, cored and diced (about 1 cup)

½ cup sugar

3 tablespoons corn starch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Crust and Topping

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Juicy Juice^® 100% juice, apple flavor

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

½ cup old fashioned rolled oats

½ cup chopped walnuts, optional

3 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

Crust and Topping

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade attachment. Pulse several times to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle ¼ cup Juicy Juice^® 100% juice, apple flavor over the crumbly mixture, and pulse again to moisten. Open lid and squeeze a handful of the mixture together. If it holds together it is moist enough. If it doesn’t hold together, repeat drizzling and pulsing with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Juicy Juice^® 100% juice, apple flavor. Transfer ½ cup of the crumbly mixture to a small bowl and set aside. Transfer the remaining crumbly mixture to the prepared baking dish and press into the bottom to form a smooth surface with the back of your fingers.
2. Top the crust with the apple and pear mixture, spreading it out evenly. Stir oats, walnuts (if using) and 3 tablespoons sugar into the ½ cup of crumbly mixture to make topping. Sprinkle topping over the apple mixture. Bake until the fruit bubbles along the edges and the topping is golden (42 to 50 minutes).
3. Let cool and then chill completely. Cut into 24 bars before serving.

Apple Filling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Stir 1 cup Juicy Juice^® 100% juice, apple flavor, apples, pear, ½ cup sugar, corn starch and cinnamon together in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and stir constantly. Remove from heat when mixture bubbles and thickens.