Preheat the oven to 180°C or 160°C fan-assisted convection. Grease and line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.

For the streusel topping, weigh 40g of mixture from both the sugar sachet and cookie mix sachet and whisk together in a small bowl. Add the cinnamon and melted butter and gently mix to form a crumble. Set aside.

For the cookie base, cream the remining sugar (sachet 1) with the softened butter for 1 minute until pale and creamy. Add the remaining cookie mix (sachet 2) and mix to form a smooth dough – the dough is fairly dry so you may need to use your hands to bring it together.

Press the dough evenly into the base of the prepared tin and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cookie is set and just starting to turn golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for a few minutes.

While your cookie base is baking, peel and dice the apples. Place into a medium saucepan with the cinnamon, lemon juice and sugar and simmer over low heat until the apples are slightly softened and their liquid is reduced, about 5-10 minutes.

Pour the apple mixture on top of the par-baked cookie base and spread in an even layer, then sprinkle over the streusel topping. Place the apple bars in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the streusel is golden and crisp and the apple filling looks glossy and sticky.

Allow the bars to cool and firm up for 15 minutes, then slice and serve warm with ice cream or cream.

Tip: We recommend enjoying these bars the day they are baked while the topping is still crisp.