Salted Caramel Apple Crisp Bars

A salted caramel apple crisp bar on a wooden board.

5 from 6 votes

With a buttery shortbread crust, juicy apple filling and oatmeal crumb topping, these Salted Caramel Apple Crisp bars are sure to become your new fall favorite!

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple crisp bars

Servings: squares

Calories: 217kcal

Author: Kelsey Byrnes

Equipment

Oven
8x8 or 9x9 pan

Ingredients

Shortbread Crust

1/2 cup salted butter room temperature
1 1/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Salted Caramel Apple Filling

4 cups peeled and thinly sliced apples
1/4 cup caramel sauce (from jar)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup flour

Topping

6 tablespoons salted butter room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 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

*The parchment paper is optional, however, it helps remove the bars from the pan so you can transfer them to a cutting board to cut into nice slices.

*Let the bars cool before cutting for nicely cut edges.

*If you don't have an 8x8 square pan, I recommend using a 9x9 square pan. Because the bars will be slightly thinner, it may take 5 minutes less in the oven.

Nutrition