Description
Deliciously layered bars featuring a buttery crumble, spiced apples, and rich salted caramel, perfect for autumn gatherings.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour blend)
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (certified gluten-free if needed)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed (2 sticks)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
- 4 medium-sized apples, such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Pink Lady (about 4 cups when sliced)
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup caramel sauce (store-bought or homemade)
- 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt (plus extra for sprinkling)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and prepare a 9×13-inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add cubed cold butter and use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to mix until coarse crumbs form with pea-sized pieces of butter still visible.
- Reserve about 1½ cups of this mixture for the topping, then press the remaining mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan to create a crust.
- Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. Toss the apple slices with lemon juice to prevent browning.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Toss this mixture with the apple slices until evenly coated.
- Warm store-bought caramel in the microwave until pourable, then stir in coarse sea salt.
- Spread the apple filling evenly over the crust and drizzle the salted caramel sauce over the apples.
- Mix the reserved crumble with pecans, if desired, and sprinkle it evenly over the caramel and apples.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the filling bubbles at the edges. Tent with aluminum foil if it browns too quickly.
- Allow cooling for 2 hours before lifting out and cutting into 16 squares.
Notes
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of additional caramel for an extra special touch. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or refrigerate for up to a week.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 200mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
Keywords: caramel, apple, crumble, dessert, fall, autumn, bars