Apple-Pear Shortbread Crumble Bars

Disclosure: I am a Blog Ambassador for Walkers Shortbread. I was provided free product to try and was not compensated for this post. All thoughts are my own.

I'm so happy the weather is finally cooling down and it's starting to feel like the Fall season. I don't know about you, but here in Northern California it's been hot, hot, hot in recent week! It finally seems to be cooling down, and the other night I actually got to wear boots and leggings - my favorite kind of Fall apparel. Something about the crisp air, and being able to bundle up in cute clothes and all of the beautiful Fall colors just does something to me. It's absolutely my favorite season of the year, with all my favorite flavors and scents of the season.

As you know, I'm an ambassador for Walkers Shortbread. This month my shipment included some delicious varieties of the Pure Butter Shortbreads as well as one of my favorites from my initial shipment, the Pure Butter Stem Ginger Shortbread. If you recall my first recipe with Walkers included these babies in the crust. Ah, that was a delicious pie. This month I decided I wanted something decidedly Fall tasting. At first I considered another pie, but quickly decided this needed to be a little different. I decided to create some fruit bars that incorporated fresh Bartlett Pears and Granny Smith Apples. Flavors included would be cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, a trace of maple, walnuts and of course I'd use the Pure Butter Stem Ginger Shortbread for a crumble topping. Similar to my cookie bars, but at the same time decidedly different. Also a slight resemblance to my pear crumble, but not quite. These are in a league of their own, incorporating all the best Fall flavors in every bite.

This months shipment from Walkers Shortbread.
See the coupon code at the end so you can purchase your own delicious collection!

Crust Ingredients:

• 2 boxes Pure Butter Shortbread Highlanders, crushed
• 1 box Pure Butter Shortbread Rounds, crushed
• 1-1/2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup lightly salted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons maple extract

Filling Ingredients:

• 3 granny smith apples (peeled, cored & diced)
• 3 bartlett pears (peeled, cored & diced)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon all spice

Crumb Topping Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 6 Pure Butter Stem Ginger Shortbread cookies, crushed
• 1/4 cup butter, cold
• 1/4 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Vanilla Drizzle Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel, core and dice apples and pears. Place in bowl and mix with lemon juice, to prevent browning.

In a separate bowl, combine the remaining filling ingredients and cover fruit with it. 

Let sit while crust is being prepared.

Place all the cookies and sugar for crust in a food processor. Process until crumbly.

Remove from processor, place in bowl and add melted butter and maple extract. 

Mix well until it's evenly distributed.

Grease or spray a large rectangular casserole dish. 

Press crust evenly in the bottom with the back of a spoon. 

Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes until golden brown.

Remove crust, let cool.

While crust is cooling, prepare crumble topping. 

Add flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and cookies to processor. Process until crumbly.

Place mixture in bowl with slices of butter, cubed. Using a pastry cutter or fork, press butter with mixture until the butter is small pieces thoroughly combined. Add quick oats and walnuts and mix.

Spread apple and pear mixture over prepared crust, then sprinkle crumble mixture on top. 

Bake 20 minutes in preheated oven. Let cool.

Prepare Vanilla Drizzle and lightly sprinkle over the top of the crumble mixture. 

Perfect.

Once done, refrigerate everything at least an hour, this will help to ensure it slices nicely.

Cut into square bars, heating up if necessary.

Enjoy!

You can receive an exclusive 25% discount off your total purchase of Walkers Shortbreads with the promo code KMHFRUIT. This code expires on Monday, September 23, 2013, so be sure to get your orders in & take advantage of the great discount!