These Salted Caramel Apple Crisp Bars have layer upon layer of fall flavor! With a shortbread crust, soft apple filling and a sweet and crunchy oatmeal crumble, this dessert will soon become a favorite!
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Fall brings so much excitement - tailgating and football games, a new school year, beautiful changing leaves, sweaters and boot weather and yep, you guessed it, pumpkin/apple everything! Well this year, for our family, there's a whole new level of excitement....
Yep, you read that right, McKinley is going to be a BIG SISTER!! Our family is growing and we are beyond excited! To think in just a few months we will have TWO kiddos in the house (well, three if you count Zach😉) makes me smile about all the fun times to come!
Other than some late night nausea and wicked weird dreams, this pregnancy has been pretty smooth sailing thus far. Baby is healthy and has a strong heartbeat (best sound in the world!) and we're rolling into the second trimester! Woohoo! One down, two to go!
So when I was thinking about what recipe to post with my pregnancy announcement, I was stumped. It would be logical to have a recipe I've been craving, but "open a can of green beans and eat cold" probably wouldn't sound too appealing. Ha! Aren't pregnancy cravings bizarre?!
Ok, so the green beans idea got tossed pretty quick. But I knew whatever recipe I chose had to be something awesome. So, I created these Salted Caramel Apple Crisp Bars in hopes that maybe it would be an option. Turns out these weren't an option, they were the option! For real, I still cannot believe that this was the recipe I came up with on the first try....I'm gonna call that lucky!!
I love apple crisp and I love salted caramel, so marrying these two flavors just seemed like a perfect fit. The combination of flavors and textures just works....and it's a beautiful thing!!! Does the recipe take a little more time due to having three layers? Sure. Is it 100% worth it? Ohhhh yes!!
What kind of apples are best to use in these apple crisp bars?
My two favorite types of apples to use are Braeburns and Jonagolds - they're both have a nice balance of sweetness and tartness and are juicy when cooked without getting mushy!
How should I store leftovers?
If you're lucky enough to have leftovers, you can certainly store these and eat later. Either cover the baking pan with foil or place the bars in an airtight container with a lid. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Although these are delicious to eat cold, I'd highly recommend popping them in the microwave and topping with a scoop of vanilla ice cream...mmmmmm!
I do not recommend freezing the bars. Although I haven't tried it, I'm worried the bottom crust would get soggy and the topping would lose it's crunchy texture....no bueno!
Apple Desserts that I Love!
Fireball Whiskey Apple Dumplings
Salted Caramel Apple Crisp Bars
Equipment
- Oven
- 8x8 or 9x9 pan
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- ½ c salted butter room temperature
- 1 ¼ c flour
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Salted Caramel Apple Filling
- 4 c peeled and thinly sliced apples
- ¼ c caramel sauce (from jar)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ¼ c flour
Topping
- 6 tablespoon salted butter room temperature
- ¾ c brown sugar
- ½ c flour
- ½ c oatmeal
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- additional caramel if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8x8* square pan with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl combine the butter, flour, brown sugar and salt. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes.
- Core, peel, and thinly slice 4-5 apples (or however many it takes to get 4 cups). Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the caramel, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar and flour. Pour over the apples and gently stir to coat the apples with the caramel mixture.
- Spoon the apples over the crust and use your hands to press them down so they're in a nice even layer. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, use a fork to combine the butter, brown sugar, flour, oatmeal and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the apples and gently press down.
- Bake an additional 35-40 minutes, or until the apples are soft.
- Let cool; drizzle with additional caramel sauce and spinkle with additional salt, if desired. Serve as is, or with a scoop of ice cream!
Notes
Recipe added to the Weekend Potluck and Meal Plan Monday.
Sheree Runion Hyde says
Your recipe for these bars sound so wonderful and I plan to make it for my sisters retirement party. Wish I had a pretty little helper like yours. She is precious! Is the new baby here yet? A little boy?
Kelsey says
Hi Sheree!! Oh I'm sure these bars will be a hit for the retirement party! And thank you - she is at such a fun age! No baby yet - due early March! And we're actually going to wait until he or she is born to find out the gender. We did that with McKinley and loved the surprise! 🙂
Shelly Pedersen says
Hi. These bars sound wonderful! Curious, what size pan do you use for the 2X & 3X recipes? Thanks!
kelsey says
You could double it and put it in a 9x13" pan, for sure!! 🙂