These straightforward caramel apple bars are full of candy cinnamon apples and gooey caramel in every irresistible chew!

Caramel apple pie bars

With a shortbread crust, caramel apple filling, and buttery streusel topping, that is the proper recipe for Fall.

They’re surprisingly straightforward to make at dwelling. And at underneath 200 energy every, these mushy and gooey treats are any caramel apple lover’s dream come true.

I introduced the caramel apple bars to a Halloween celebration, however they’d be simply as welcome at Thanksgiving, Christmas, or just about any vacation gathering.

Use leftover apples for Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Components for the dessert

Apples – Select tart, crisp sorts of apples when baking.

Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Braeburn, Fuji, Golden Scrumptious, Gala, and Pink Girl apples are all nice selections.

You wish to keep away from apples that flip mushy when cooked, like Pink Scrumptious.

Caramel – Be happy to go together with retailer purchased caramels to avoid wasting time. Or make your individual home made caramels from scratch.

For salted caramel apple bars, purchase salted caramels. And for vegan caramel apple bars, search for plant based mostly caramels.

Flour – I like to recommend both white all goal flour, spelt flour, or all goal gluten free flour. Or for caramel apple oatmeal bars, go together with oat flour.

When you experiment with entire wheat flour, almond flour, or pastry flour, please let me know the way it goes.

For the very best outcomes, don’t use coconut flour as a result of it’s going to yield dry outcomes.

Sugar – This may be common white sugar, brown sugar, or unrefined coconut sugar. For added sugar free bars, select granulated xylitol or an erythritol monk fruit mix.

I’ve by no means tried to swap out the sugar for pure maple syrup or honey so can’t advocate these substitutions.

Spices – Floor cinnamon imparts spicy sweetness and Fall taste, and a pinch of salt provides depth. You too can add a fourth teaspoon of ginger or a pinch of nutmeg.

Thickener – The recipe is of course egg free. Cornstarch thickens the apple filling, whereas baking powder helps give the pastry crust and streusel topping a light-weight, tender crumb.

Fats supply – Select butter or dairy free butter, coconut oil, or vegetable oil.

Utilizing coconut oil yields a barely extra crunchy texture, whereas caramel crumble bars made with butter or vegan butter are softer.

Wholesome caramel apple bars

On the lookout for a wholesome choice with added calcium and fiber?

Substitute chopped and pitted dried dates in an equal quantity for the caramels.

Whereas they after all don’t style precisely the identical as conventional caramel, naturally sweetened dates do have a taste profile and sweetness just like caramel.

Some readers prefer to bake oil free and substitute the butter with applesauce. Be happy to do that low fats variation for your self. If you’re used to the style of wholesome desserts, you might not thoughts the dense muffin texture.

Readers additionally love these Vegan Cranberry Bliss Bars

Caramel apple bars recipe video

Watch the step-by-step video, above.

Recipe ideas and troubleshooting

You could catch within the video that I fully overlook so as to add cornstarch. Because of the excessive pectin in apples, the bars nonetheless held collectively surprisingly properly and weren’t crumbly like I’d anticipated.

So if you happen to make the identical mistake that I did, bake the pan anyway and the outcomes will in all probability be simply wonderful!

If it occurs to be a moist day otherwise you by chance added an excessive amount of water and your dough is a bit gummy, use a spoon to drop small items of dough as evenly as attainable over the whole lot.

This situation has occurred to me earlier than and it nonetheless seems nice in the long run.

When made with coconut oil as an alternative of butter, the bars are a bit extra crumbly. I like to recommend chilling the pan after cooling for a couple of minutes, as a result of it’s going to make slicing the bars a lot simpler and fewer messy.

Need extra bars? Make Peach Bars or Blueberry Bars

The way to make caramel apple bars

Start by preheating your oven to 350 levels Fahrenheit.

Line the underside of an eight inch sq. baking pan with parchment paper. Alternatively, grease the pan properly with oil or fats free oil spray. Set the pan apart.

In a big mixing bowl, stir the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder very properly. If you’re utilizing unsalted butter or oil, add a further fourth teaspoon of salt.

Utilizing a pastry cutter, wire whisk, or a fork, reduce within the butter or oil till small pea sized crumbles type. If the dough is just too dry, slowly add just a little water.

*Fast and simple recipe tip: You possibly can reduce the butter or oil in by pulsing the components in a meals processor if you happen to want. Pulse simply round ten instances, ensuring to not over course of the dough.

Press about two thirds of the pastry dough very firmly into the underside of the ready eight inch baking pan. You could use a second sheet of parchment paper or a big spoon to clean it down.

Peel the apples if you want, or skip this step like I did.

Apple pores and skin offers nutritional vitamins A, C, Okay, and a number of different well being advantages like fiber, calcium, and potassium.

Cube or thinly slice the apples. Then toss them in a bowl with cornstarch or arrowroot.

Unfold this apple filling over the crust within the pan. Finely chop the caramels, and unfold them evenly over the apples.

Sprinkle the reserved dough evenly over prime. As a enjoyable variation, it’s also possible to sprinkle a layer of oats or granola on prime of the whole lot for some crunch.

Baking and storing directions

As soon as the oven reaches 350 levels, bake the pan on the middle rack for 50 minutes.

After this time, the apples ought to look bubbly and properly caramelized. Your kitchen will scent deliciously like cinnamon sugar.

Fastidiously take away the pan of bars and allow them to sit on the counter.

It is very important allow them to cool earlier than slicing into bars, as a result of they may agency up as they cool off.

Slice into twelve giant bars or sixteen smaller caramel apple squares.

If I’m going to a celebration the place I do know there will probably be numerous dessert choices, I’ll generally slice them into twenty and even twenty 5 mini apple caramel bars. Folks love chew sized desserts!

Retailer leftovers in an hermetic lined container within the fridge for as much as 5 days.

Or freeze with a layer of parchment paper in between every layer of bars. The recipe ought to keep good within the freezer for about three months. Thaw within the microwave or toaster oven, on the range prime, or in a single day within the fridge earlier than having fun with.

Subsequent on my baking listing is to attempt including cream cheese to the filling to create DIY caramel apple cheesecake bars.

Further caramels? Add them to three ingredient Cereal Bars

Changing the recipe to grams

I really like utilizing a meals scale as an alternative of cups and tablespoons, as a result of I imagine it yields probably the most constant outcomes when baking.

Meals scales additionally imply much less clear up, which is all the time a win in my e book.

When you want to use a kitchen scale for this recipe, measure 200 grams flour, 130 grams sugar, 7 grams cinnamon, 8 grams cornstarch, 150 grams caramels, 150 grams butter or oil, and 320 grams apple, measured after dicing.

Additionally bear in mind so as to add the baking powder and salt.

The recipe was tailored from this Apple Crisp and my Apple Crumble Bars.

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