These sweet and salty apple pie bars are an absolute WINNER! Buttery Shortbread Crust, layers of juicy cinnamon spiced apples, brown sugar & oats streusel and of course loads and loads of salted caramel!! TO DIE FOR!
Course
Breakfast, brunch, Snack
Cuisine
American, northamerica
Keyword
apple pie, bars, dessert, easy, fall, salted caramel, thanksgiving
Prep Time45minutes
Cook Time35minutes
Servings10pieces
Calories280kcal
AuthorKiki Johnson
Ingredients
For the crust
1/2cupcup unsalted butter115g, melted
1/4cupgranulated sugar50g
1tsp vanilla extract
1/2tspsalt
1cupall-purpose flour125g
For the apple filling
2 - 3large applespeeled and thinly sliced
2tbspall-purpose flour
2tbspbrown sugar
1,5tspground cinnamon
1/2tsp ground nutmeg
For the Streusel topping
1/2cupoats40g
1/3cupbrown sugar70g
1/4tsp ground cinnamon
1/4tsp salt
1/4cup all-purpose flour30g
1/4cup butter60g, cold and cubed
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper and set aside.
Make the crust
Stir the melted butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir until everything is combined. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes while you prepare the filling and streusel.
Make the apple filling: Combine the sliced peeled apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl until all of the apples are evenly coated. Set aside.
Make the streusel: Whisk the oats, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together in a medium bowl. Cut in the chilled butter with a pastry blender or two forks (or even with your hands) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
Remove the crust from the oven, and turn the oven up to 350°F (180°C). Evenly layer the apples on top of the warm crust layering them tightly and pressing them down to fit. Sprinkle the apple layer with your streusel and bake for about 30–35 minutes until the streusel is golden brown.
Remove the bars from the oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes at room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. Now you can cut them into about 12 larger bars. Once cut feel free to drizzle as much salted caramel sauce on top of each bar as you please.
Recipe Notes
The recipe is for an 8-inch square pan. I doubled the recipe and made a big batch! Feel free to do the same. You can make these ahead of time and freeze them for up to 3 months. Just defrost them in the fridge overnight and they are good to eat!