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Caramel apples are always a fall favorite! But let’s be honest, they can also become quite a sticky mess to eat. So, we have reimagined the caramel apple and turned it into a dessert bar. Less mess, but with all the same flavors.
Each caramel apple shortbread bar has a shortbread crust, tart granny smith apple filling, spiced crumble topping and topped with a caramel drizzle. These caramel apple shortbread bars are sure to be a hit at your next dinner party.
We love a good dessert bar recipe! Dessert bars always seem to be a favorite because they are lower maintenance when baking and also serving.
Try more dessert bar recipes:
Key Lime Cheesecake Bars with Ginger Snap Cookie Crust
Three Layer Tiramisu Blondie Dessert Bars
Salted Toffee Dark Chocolate Tahini Bars
Caramel Apple Dessert Bars
Recipe Snapshot
- Preheat oven and make shortbread cookie crust and chill.
- Make apple filling and spiced crumble topping.
- Assemble bars: shortbread cookie crust, filling and crumble.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes. Make homemade caramel sauce while the bars bake.
- Remove from oven and cool completely, about 45-50 minutes.
- Drizzle with caramel sauce, slice and eat!
Each layer of the caramel apple dessert bars include…
The caramel apple dessert bars are made of three delicious layers – shortbread cookie crust, granny smith apple filling and a spiced crumble topping
Shortbread cookie crust: Our tried and true short bread crust has been used as the base for several of our desserts, including Salted Chocolate Pecan Dessert Bars. Shortbread is a good neutral base for dessert bars and pairs very well with fruit fillings.
Granny Smith Apple Filling: This apple filling is a mixture of granny smith apples, spices and flour for thickening. When the apples cook down, they will make a soft tangy filling.
Spiced Crumble Topping: We love a lot of crumble topping. This mixture of brown and white sugar, flour, butter and more spices creates a flavorful and warming crumble topping. The light crumb texture pairs so well with the apple filling and crisp cookie crust underneath.
The final touch on top of this 3 layer bar is a sweet, gooey caramel sauce. YUM!
How do you make homemade caramel sauce?
It is super easy to make with only three ingredients. But, it does take some time, most of which is just cooling time. If you do not have time or patience, use a store-bought caramel sauce.
Start by melting sugar in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. (10-15 minutes) Make sure you occasionally stir the sugar. It is important to not rush this as you may burn your sugar. Your sugar will start to form clumps, this means it is starting to melt. So..keep stirring and scraping the edges for any excess sugar.
Once the sugar does start to melt, it will melt fast! Continue to stir until all the sugar clumps are dissolved. When you have a nice, smooth liquid, remove it from the heat.
Next, add in butter! Warning: the butter will start to bubble but make sure you continue to stir until it is completely mixed together.
Lastly, add in you heavy whipping cream and stir until the mixture is combined. It will still be pretty runny at this stage and will need to cool completely to have the thick caramel consistency.
Pour the caramel in a glass jar or container and let it cool completely before you use in the recipe.
Use any left over caramel to make Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa!
What if I don’t want to make homemade caramel sauce?
Nothing beats homemade caramel sauce!! BUT it does take some time to make and cool completely. And you can find some amazing caramel sauce at the store. Here are our favorite store-bought caramel sauces:
How can you store the Caramel Apple Dessert Bars?
If you plan on eating all the bars within 3-4 days, we recommend storing the bars in the fridge in an airtight container. We find that storing them in the fridge will help preserve the texture of the crumble topping.
If you do not plan on eating the bars right away, you can freeze them to eat at a later time. We recommend wrapping each bar in plastic wrap and storing in a freezer safe bag.
How do you reheat frozen dessert bars?
You can either thaw the dessert bars at room temperature or in the oven. For a quicker reheat, use the oven.
Thawing at room temperature: Place bars on counter to thaw for 1-2 hours until completely thawed out. Warm them to your liking in the microwave for 10-15 seconds each.
Oven: Preheat oven to a low temperature, 350ºF. Place on baking sheet and heat for 5 minutes until warm.
Caramel Apple Dessert Bars
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Description
A shortbread crust, tart granny smith apple filling, spiced crumble topping and topped with a caramel drizzle.
Ingredients
Shortbread Cookie Crust
16 tbsp butter, chilled and cubed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
Apple Filling
2–3 apples
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
Spiced Crumble Topping
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
Homemade caramel Syrup (optional)
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp salted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
Instructions
- Start by making the shortbread crust. Preheat oven to 350*F and grease a 9×11 baking pan with butter and line with a sheet of parchment paper. Set to the side while you make the dough.
- Using an electric mixer on medium high speed with paddle attachment, cream the chilled butter and the sugars. You want to make sure your butter is cold, so feel free to throw your sticks of butter in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to get them super cold.
- Once the butter and sugar are creamed, vanilla extract and mix to combine.
- Lastly you will add in the flour and mix until just combined, careful to not over mix the dough. Scrape the bowl with a spatula and make sure excess flour and butter are combined. Roll dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in fridge while you make the filling.
- Make apple filling. Peel, core and thinly slice apples. In a medium bowl, toss apples, flour, lemon juice, sugar and spices together. Let it sit while you make the crumble.
- Make spiced crumble. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients to a bowl and mix together with a fork or with hands until a crumble texture forms.
- Add your crust to the greased pan and press the dough into an even layer on the bottom of your pan. Next add apple filling and top with crumble topping. Place in the preheated oven to cook for 35-45 minutes minutes, until golden brown on the edges and top.
- If you choose to make homemade caramel syrup, make it while your bars are cooking. (See recipe for our homemade caramel syrup in notes the below.)
- Remove bars from oven and let them cool for 45-50 minutes. You want to make sure they are cooled and set before cutting into them. Drizzle with caramel sauce, slice and serve!!
Notes
Note: Before you make your caramel sauce, set out you buttermilk and butter at room temperature. Cold butter milk and butter can clump up the caramel.
- Start by making your caramel sauce. In a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat, start by melting your sugar. Make sure you occasionally stir the sugar. It is important to not rush this as you may burn your sugar. Your sugar will start to form clumps, this means it is starting to melt. Once the sugar does start to melt, it will melt fast! Continue to stir until all the sugar clumps are dissolved and you have a nice smooth liquid. Remove from heat
- Once you remove form the heat, add in your stick of butter. The butter will bubble but make sure you stir until it is mixed together. Add in you heavy whipping cream and stir until the mixture is combined.
- Pour in a glass jar or container and let it cool completely.
**If you don’t make homemade caramel syrup, we recommend these great store-bought options. Stonewall Sea Salt Caramel Sauce, Ghirardelli Caramel Sauce, Williams Sonoma Salted Caramel Sauce
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cool Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
