Grandma’s Easy To Make Apple Squares – Sour Cream Apple Squares Recipe

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Grandma’s Sour Cream Apple Squares is an old-fashioned dessert that will have your family begging for more. These delicious bars have two layers including a creamy apple cake layer and a sweet brown sugar crust. Serve these with whipped cream just like our Grandma did.

Grandma's Sour Cream Apple Squares is an old-fashioned dessert that will have your family begging for more.  These delicious bars have two layers including a creamy apple layer and a sweet brown sugar crust. Serve these with whipped cream just like our Grandma did.

Grandma’s Sour Cream Apple Squares Recipe

Do you love apples as much as my family?

Growing up, Dad would cut an apple every night so we would have a snack while watching TV.  An apple a day keeps the doctor away is the motto he always said. It seems he must have gotten his love of apples from his mom, our Grandma, because these bars with apples is a recipe that came directly from her wooden recipe box.

I’ve had this recipe card pinned on the refrigerator for quite a while.  Now that I’ve discovered how amazing these sour cream apple bars are, I am kicking myself for not making them sooner. The entire family is absolutely hooked on these. The combination of two layers makes these sour cream dessert bars unique.

The bottom layer is a crust made with butter, brown sugar, butter and nuts while the top layer has a creamy cake layer with sour cream, apples, cinnamon and more.  I truly can’t decide how I like them more – warm out of the oven or cold from the refrigerator.

Apparently all our blogger friends love apples as much as we do. Try Caramel Apple Coffee Cake, Apple Cider Moscow Mules, and Crock Pot Cinnamon Apples.

Grandma's Sour Cream Apple Squares is an old-fashioned dessert that will have your family begging for more.  These delicious bars have two layers including a creamy apple layer and a sweet brown sugar crust. Serve these with whipped cream just like our Grandma did.

Ingredient List

  • All Purpose Flour
  • Brown Sugar
  • Butter (or margarine)
  • Chopped Walnuts (or chopped pecans)
  • Ground Cinnamon
  • Baking Soda
  • Salt
  • Sour cream
  • Vanilla extract
  • Egg
  • Diced Apples
Grandma's Sour Cream Apple Squares is made with very simple ingredients including fresh apples, sour cream, butter, and pecans.

How to Make Sour Cream Apple Squares

Step by Step Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and butter; add nuts.
  2. Press 2 3/4 cups of crust mixture into the bottom of the pan.
  3. To the remaining mixture, add cinnamon, baking soda, salt, sour cream, vanilla and egg; stir in apples.
  4. Pour over the base, and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 35 minutes.

Storage Instructions

Let leftovers cool to room temperature. Cover tightly and store at room temperature. Store the bars in the fridge if it’s going to be several days before consuming them all to slow mold growth.

For the full sour cream dessert bars, scroll to the bottom of this post.

Grandma's Sour Cream Apple Squares is an old-fashioned dessert that will have your family begging for more.  These delicious bars have two layers including a creamy apple layer and a sweet brown sugar crust. Serve these with whipped cream just like our Grandma did.

Recipe FAQs for Sour Cream Apple Bars

  • Grandma’s original sour cream apple squares recipe says you can use butter or margarine. Just be sure it’s softened before using.
  • To lower the fat content, swap in low fat or nonfat sour cream.
  • What’s the best baking apple? We always follow the theory “What would Grandma use?”  We know Grandma would use whatever apple she had on hand.  If you are buying some apples just for this dessert, use Granny Smith apples.
  • Be sure to peel the apples before adding to the sour cream dessert bar recipe.
  • You can use a 9 x 13 inch baking dish or if you have old Corning Ware, use the rectangle 2 Quart dish.  Just know that you’ll need to increase the baking time to almost 45 minutes. Be sure a toothpick comes out clean.
  • These Sour Cream Dessert Bars with apples are delicious served hot with whipped cream or ice cream, but are also just as delicious served cold from the refrigerator.
  • Love apples? Try Grandma’s Apple Crisp, Crock Pot Apple Crisp Pork Chops, and Old Fashioned Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce.
Grandma's Sour Cream Apple Squares is an old-fashioned dessert that will have your family begging for more.  These delicious bars have two layers including a creamy apple layer and a sweet brown sugar crust. Serve these with whipped cream just like our Grandma did.

Recipe Variations

  • Use Greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream.
  • Use margarine instead of butter.
  • Omit nuts, if desired, or change the type of chopped nuts to suit your taste.
  • Add a variety of apple pie spices such as ground nutmeg, allspice, ground ginger or ground cloves.

Linking up to Meal Plan Monday.

Grandma's Sour Cream Apple Squares is an old-fashioned dessert that will have your family begging for more.  These delicious bars have two layers including a creamy apple layer and a sweet brown sugar crust. Serve these with whipped cream just like our Grandma did.
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5 from 1 vote

Grandma’s Sour Cream Apple Squares

Grandma's Sour Cream Apple Squares is an old-fashioned dessert that will have your family begging for more.  These delicious bars have two layers including a creamy apple layer and a sweet brown sugar crust. Serve these with whipped cream just like our Grandma did. 
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Grandma’s Sour Cream Apple Squares, Sour Cream Apple Bars, Sour Cream Apple Squares
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 302kcal
Author: Barbara

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup chopped nuts
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups apples, peeled and finely chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • With a mixer, blend flour, brown sugar and softened butter until crumbly. The consistency should be that of sand; stir in chopped nuts.
  • Press 2 3/4 cups of the mixture into an ungreased 9×13 inch pan.
  • To the remaining mixture, add cinnamon, baking soda, salt, sour cream, vanilla and egg; blend well. Stir in apples.
  • Spoon evenly over the base in pan.
  • Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown, and a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cut into squares, and serve with whipped cream if desired.

Notes

  • Grandma’s original sour cream apple squares recipe says you can use butter or margarine. Just be sure it’s softened before using.
  • To lower the fat content, swap in low fat or nonfat sour cream.
  • What’s the best baking apple? We always follow the theory “What would Grandma use?”  We know Grandma would use whatever apple she had on hand.  If you are buying some apples just for this dessert, use Granny Smith apples.
  • Be sure to peel the apples before adding to the sour cream dessert bar recipe.
  • You can use a 9×13 inch baking dish or if you have old Corning Ware, use the rectangle 2 Quart dish.  Just know that you’ll need to increase the baking time to almost 45 minutes. Be sure a toothpick comes out clean.
  • These Sour Cream Dessert Bars with apples are delish served hot with whipped cream or ice cream, but are also just as delicious served cold from the refrigerator. 
  • Love apples? Try Grandma’s Apple Crisp, Crock Pot Apple Crisp Pork Chops, and Old Fashioned Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce. 
  • The nutritional information below is auto-calculated and can vary depending on the products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 302kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 159mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 292IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 1mg

This post is sponsored by the Glass Barn, Indiana Soybean and Corn Farmers but all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Grandma's Sour Cream Apple Squares is an old-fashioned dessert that will have your family begging for more.  These delicious bars have two layers including a creamy apple layer and a sweet brown sugar crust. Serve these with whipped cream just like our Grandma did.

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7 Comments

  1. Just finished baking this. Very good, directions say to mix in salt but no amount in recipe. I added scant tsp. Thanks for great old time recipe

    1. Oh my goodness, we are so sorry. We use a 1/2 teaspoon of salt (which we added to the recipe card) so a “scant tsp” worked perfectly! So glad you enjoyed them despite our “oops”! Thanks for letting us know and being so kind about it!

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