Caramel Apple Crisp Bars
These caramel apple crisp bars are easy to make with just a few simple ingredients. Layers of crispy oat crumble, spiced apples, and caramel drizzle, it's the perfect fall dessert!
Apple season is here! One of my favorite parts about fall is apples, from apple picking, to cider doughnuts, to just cooking and baking with apples in general. These caramel apple crisp bars taste like fall, and they couldn’t be easier to make.
Made with just a few simple ingredients, these bars can be whipped up in no time for easy and delicious dessert or snack!
Why you’ll love this recipe
The oat crisp is just a few ingredients mixed together, and the apple filling is just diced apples with some sugar, lemon, and spices cooked together, making this a super easy dessert that everyone will enjoy.
The oat crisp tastes just like a crunchy oatmeal cookie.
It uses store bought caramel, making it one less step that needs to be done.
These bars can be frozen, which means you can make them ahead of time and always have some on hand.
Ingredients needed for this recipe
Rolled Oats - Any brand of quick oats works for the crisp topping.
All purpose flour - A gluten free blend will also work if you want to make this recipe flourless.
Brown sugar - light or dark will both work.
Butter - Unsalted butter always, you can also sub a dairy free butter or coconut oil in place of the butter.
Spices - Cinnamon and ginger, the perfect fall combo
Salt - to help balance the sweetness
Apples - McIntosh, Cortland, Gala, and Honeycrisp are all great options
Lemon juice - The acidity enhances the flavor of the apples
Caramels - My favorite are the Kraft Caramels, easy to find and affordable
Heavy Cream - To help thin out the caramels a bit
Tips on making this recipe perfectly
Make sure you use an apple that is good for baking and won’t break down and turn into apple sauce. I used Gala, but Honeycrisp, Cortland, and McIntosh are all great options.
Cool the apple filling slightly before assembling. It does not have to be cold, just cool enough where no steam is coming out of it.
Cut the bars once they are cooled, they will fall apart and crumble if they are cut while still hot.
How to cut the apples for the filling
First peel the apples, then cut them in half and scoop out the core, you can either do this part with a melon baller or a small knife. From here you can cut them into 1/2 inch thick slices and then into 1/2 inch cubes.
Other fall recipes to try
Pumpkin Marshmallow Snickerdoodles
Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
If you tried these Caramel Apple Crisp Bars or any other recipe on the blog, leave a comment below and let me know how you liked it. And be sure to follow along on Pinterest and Instagram for more deliciousness!
Caramel Apple Crisp Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup (135 grams) rolled oats
- 3/4 cup (100 grams) all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (110 grams) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (4 apples or 372 grams) apples, peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 15 Kraft caramels
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Instructions
- In a medium size pot, stir together apples, brown sugar, spices and lemon juice.
- Cook over medium heat until apples start to soften slightly, 3-5 minutes.
- Once apple are partially cooked, remove from heat and cool.
- In a small sauce pan melt caramels and heavy cream on low heat until melted.
- In a medium size bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt until fully combined.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper and lightly grease.
- Press half of the oat mixture into the bottom of the pan.
- Spread the apple filling evenly over the oat base.
- Drizzle the caramel over the apples and top with remaining oat crisp.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden brown. The caramel should start to bubble through the oat topping a bit.
- Cool completely before cutting.
Notes:
Cool bars before cutting.
Store bars in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Bars can be frozen for 6-8 weeks.