Name: Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars Recipe
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Yield: 16
Ingredients: For Shortbread Crust:; ½ cup unsalted butter; ¼ cup granulated sugar; 1 tsp pure vanilla extract; ¼ tsp salt; 1 cup all-purpose flour; For Apple Filling:; 2 large apples; 2 tbsp all-purpose flour; 2 tbsp granulated sugar; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg; For Streusel:; ½ cup old-fashioned oats; ⅓ cup light brown sugar; ¼ tsp Cinnamon; ¼ cup all-purpose flour; ¼ cup unsalted butter; *salted caramel sauce

How To Make Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars

Have a delightful bite of these easy-to-make apple pie bars which offer a twist to the classic apple pie, drizzled with a homemade salted caramel glaze!

Preparation: 25 minutes

Cooking: 45 minutes

Chill Time: 2 hours

Total: 3 hours 10 minutes

Serves:

Ingredients

For Shortbread Crust:

½cupunsalted butter,melted
¼cupgranulated sugar
1tsppure vanilla extract
¼tspsalt
1cupall-purpose flour,spoon and leveled

For Apple Filling:

2large apples,peeled, thinly sliced, ¼-inch thick
2tbspall-purpose flour
2tbspgranulated sugar
1tspground cinnamon
⅛tspground nutmeg

For Streusel:

½cupold-fashioned oats
⅓cuplight brown sugar,or dark brown sugar, packed
¼tspcinnamon,ground
¼cupall-purpose flour,spoon and leveled
¼cupunsalted butter,cold, cubed
*salted caramel sauce,(see Recipe Notes for recipe)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, leaving enough overhang on all sides. Set aside.

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.

Apple Filling:

Combine the sliced apples, flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl until all of the apples are evenly coated. Set aside.

Streusel:

Whisk the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together in a medium bowl. Cut in the chilled butter with a pastry blender or 2 forks until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
Remove the crust from the oven, and turn the oven up to 350 degrees F.
Evenly layer the apples on top of the warm crust; layering them tightly and press them down to fit. Sprinkle the apple layer with streusel.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the streusel is golden brown.
Remove 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.
Lift the foil or parchment out of the pan using the overhang on the sides and cut into bars. Cut them into 16 smaller bars, or into 12 larger bars.
Once cut, drizzle some salted caramel sauce on top of each. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

*Check out this Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe to go with these bars!
Make-Ahead and Freezing Instructions: The bars will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. The bars can be frozen for up to 3 months. Then, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving and drizzling with caramel.
These apple pie bars can be enjoyed warm, at room temperature, or even cold.