My mom’s easy sour cream apple squares recipe is a vintage fresh apple cake with a delightfully crunchy crust your entire family will love.
If you like this recipe, check out Mom’s Microwave Fudge next!
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Sometimes I bring a favorite recipe to you out of my “archives”. Which means the recipe boxes containing the hand written recipe cards belonging to my mom and grandma. It’s the way I honor the memory of my loved ones who are no longer here. These delicious bars are made in one bowl. It’s an ideal recipe for apple season. Sour cream apple squares recipe with a hint of cinnamon are perfect topped with some whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
More favorite apple recipes
Ingredients for sour cream apple bars
- Apples – Use the freshest apples you have on-hand. There’s a lot of sugar in this recipe, so tart granny smith apples would be a good choice.
- Flour – I’ve only tested this recipe with all purpose flour. I’m not sure if it will work with gluten free flour.
- Brown Sugar – Sweetens and provides a subtle caramel flavor to the crust and apple layer.
- Sour Cream – The sour cream layer of this dessert bakes up light and fluffy like a cake.
- Walnuts – Finely chopped walnuts are best. Larger pieces of walnuts will make the bars more rustic, which is OK too.
- Butter – My mom’s recipe does call for 1/2 cup margarine but I took the liberty of using butter instead.
- Egg – One large egg is all you need for this dessert bar.
- Seasonings – Vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
Instructions
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar and walnuts until well combined. Add the melted butter and use a fork to stir the mixture until crumbly and completely combined.
Sprinkle about 2 1/2 cups of the mixture into a greased 13×9-inch pan. Lightly press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan.
To the same bowl with the rest of the flour mixture, whisk in the sour cream, egg, vanilla and seasonings until smooth. Add the fresh apples and stir until completely combined.
Spoon the sour cream mixture evenly over top of the crust mixture. Gently smooth the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees F until the cake is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched. Allow to cool in the pan. Slice and serve squares topped with whipped cream or ice cream. For complete list of ingredients, keep scrolling to the bottom of this post for my free, printable recipe card.
Serving suggestions
These squares are perfect to take along. And since it’s fall and football season, you could make them a part of cozy tailgating spread. Here’s some of my favorite tailgating recipes –
- Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Slow Cooker Pizza Dip
- Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
- Jimmy Fallon’s Crockpot Chili
- Jarlsberg Cheese Dip
Storage directions
Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap or put leftovers in an airtight container. They’ll stay fresh at room temperature kept on the kitchen counter for 2-3 days. If you refrigerate them, be sure to warm them up first before eating.
Kitchen tools
- My favorite 13×9 pan that comes with a snap-on lid, convenient for both storing and traveling
- The best and most inexpensive paring knife for chopping the apples
- My favorite mixing bowl set that comes with matching lids and an insert for grating cheese
- A set of glass Pyrex measuring cups I use to test all of my recipes
- Magnetic measuring spoons that stay neat and tidy for storing
Sour Cream Apple Squares
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 8 tbsp butter melted
- 1 cup walnuts finely chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups apples finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13-9-inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar and walnuts until very well combined. Add the melted butter and use a fork to stir together until you have a very crumbly mixture.
- Transfer 2 1/2 cups of the mixture to the prepared pan. Loosely pack the mixture to measure. Then use the back of a measuring cup to lightly press the crust into the pan.
- To the remaining crumb mixture in the same bowl, add the sour cream, egg, vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Whisk vigorously, or use a spatula to stir it together. Be sure it is smooth and very well mixed.
- Add the chopped apple and mix again. Gently spoon the sour cream and apple mixture into the pan on top of the crust. Spread it evenly into the pan and gently smooth the top.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and it springs back when you lightly touch it.
- Allow the squares to cool in the pan. Slice into 12 squares. Top each square with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Nutrition
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