October 15, 2023

Caramel Apple Bars

I'm not sure where the time goes each day, but I have been busy with projects around the house as well as a lot of cooking and baking.  The autumn weather and earlier nights have made me want to fill the house with good smells and residual oven heat (we're really trying to not turn the heat on until absolutely necessary).

One treat I made recently for a bake sale was deliciously seasonal--Caramel Apple Bars.
They combine the flavors of caramel and apple without having to make a big mess in the kitchen from dipping your own apples.  These bars wrap up well for a bake sale or for giving to friends.
CARAMEL APPLE BARS (adapted from AllRecipes.com) (makes 48 bars)
Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups oats
  • 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/4 cups butter, melted
  • 2 cups peeled, cored and diced apples
  • 1 1/2 cups jarred or homemade caramel sauce
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 15x10 inch baking dish or jellyroll pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, quick cooking oats, brown sugar, and baking soda. Stir in the melted butter. Mix until crumbly. Press 1/2 of this mixture into the prepared baking pan to make the crust. Bake for 8 minutes in preheated oven.

Spread apple slices evenly over the baked crust. Sprinkle on the nuts.  Set aside.

In a small pan over medium heat, combine the caramel topping and the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil, and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.

Pour the caramel filling over the apple layer. (You could sprinkle on a little sea salt to make them into salted caramel apple bars).  Crumble the remaining crust mixture over the top of everything. Bake again for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before cutting into bars.
 They'd be delicious with vanilla ice cream.  Not that I would know anything about that.

2 comments:

  1. I am totally going to try the sea salt version this weekend. Thanks a lot...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! That looks so amazing. Do you ship to Hawaii? ;)

    ReplyDelete

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