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Easy Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars

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Try these Easy Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars for a delicious fall or Thanksgiving dessert!  These caramel apple pie bars are made with granny smith apples, brown sugar cinnamon oat streusel topping, and drizzled with easy homemade caramel sauce.

Ingredients

Units Scale

Shortbread Crust

Apple Pie Bars Filling

Oat Streusel Topping

Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

Instructions

  • First preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 7×11 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Next, make the shortbread crust by adding the flour, brown sugar, and butter to a food processor/blender. Pulse a few times until the mixture becomes a crumbly dough.
  • Add the dough into the prepared pan and gently press evenly to reach all the edges to form your crust. Bake in the oven for 13-15 minutes or until the crust is a light golden brown.
  • While the crust is baking, prepare your apple pie bar filling and streusel topping.
  • First core, peel, and dice your apples into bite-sized pieces. I love using this apple corer and apple peeler to speed things up.
  • Place the diced apples in a mixing bowl and combine with sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg until evenly coated.
  • For the streusel topping, combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a mixing bowl.
  • Next, add in cold, cubed butter and use a pastry blender, two forks, or your hands (my preferred method) and combine until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
  • Once crust has baked, top with the apple pie filling until all the crust is covered. Sprinkle evenly with the oat streusel topping and place in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is a light golden brown.
  • While the apple pie bars are baking, prepare your homemade salted caramel sauce.
  • First add sugar and water to a saucepan and stir until combined. Once incorporated, stop stirring and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until the mixture begins to bubble.
  • Once the caramel mixture starts to bubble, set timer for 8-10 minutes and let it simmer without stirring until the mixture turns a golden amber color or reaches 350 degrees with a digital thermometer. ***Please keep an eye on the mixture to ensure it doesn’t burn, as cooking times may vary depending on your stove.
  • Turn off heat and stir in butter until combined. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the room temperature heavy whipping cream until fully combined and mixture is a drizzle consistency. Stir in fine sea salt until combined.
  • Let the mixture cool for 5-10 minutes before drizzling on top of apple pie bars.
  • Once fully baked, remove apple pie bars from oven and let cool in the pan on a wire cooling rack.
  • Once caramel has slightly cooled, drizzle the top of the apple pie bars with desired amount of the homemade salted caramel sauce and let it set up completely before slicing and serving.
  • Store any leftover caramel sauce in a mason jar or airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 month. Caramel sauce can be re-heated in the microwave or on the stove until warm.
  • If desired, serve your salted caramel apple pie bars with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and enjoy!
YouTube video

Notes

Store leftover caramel apple pie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze the bars for up to 3 months. Bars can be thawed in the fridge and reheated if desired.

Find it online: https://www.kindlyunspoken.com/salted-caramel-apple-pie-bars/