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Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars

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 Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Servings 10 pieces
Calories 280 kcal
Author Kiki Johnson

Ingredients

For the crust

  • 1/2 cup cup unsalted butter 115g, melted
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar 50g
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour 125g

For the apple filling

  • 2 - 3 large apples peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1,5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

For the Streusel topping

  • 1/2 cup oats 40g
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar 70g
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 30g
  • 1/4 cup butter 60g, cold and cubed

Instructions

  1. 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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!