Caramel Apple Bars – Chocolate Coated Katie

These simple caramel apple bars are full of candy cinnamon apples and gooey caramel in each irresistible chew!

Caramel Apple Pie Bars

With a buttery crust, caramel apple filling, and buttery streusel topping, that is the proper fall recipe.

They’re surprisingly simple to make at house. AND with lower than 200 energy everyThese tender, gooey treats are a sweet apple lover’s dream come true.

I introduced the sweet apple bars to a Halloween get together, however they might be equally welcome at Thanksgiving, Christmas, or just about any vacation gathering.

Use leftover apples to Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Components for dessert

apples – Select apple varieties which can be tart and crisp when baking.

Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Braeburn, Fuji, Golden Scrumptious, Gala, and Pink Woman apples are glorious decisions.

It is best to keep away from apples that turn out to be mushy when cooked, corresponding to Pink Scrumptious.

sweet – Be happy to go for store-bought sweet to avoid wasting time. Or make your individual selfmade caramels from scratch.

For salted caramel apple bars, purchase salted caramels. And for vegan caramel apple bars, search for plant-based candies.

Flour – I like to recommend white all-purpose flour, spelled flour, or gluten-free all-purpose flour. Or for caramel apple oatmeal bars, go for oat flour.

When you experiment with complete wheat flour, almond flour, or baking flour, let me know the way it goes.

For greatest outcomes, don’t use coconut flour as it would produce dry outcomes.

Sugar – It may be common white sugar, brown sugar, or unrefined coconut sugar. For bars with no added sugar, select granulated xylitol or a monk fruit erythritol mix.

I’ve by no means tried swapping sugar for pure maple syrup or honey, so I can not suggest these substitutions.

Spices – Floor cinnamon provides spicy sweetness and autumn taste, and a pinch of salt provides depth. It’s also possible to add a fourth teaspoon of ginger or a pinch of nutmeg.

Thickener – The recipe, in fact, doesn’t include eggs. The cornstarch thickens the apple filling, whereas the baking powder helps give the puff pastry and streusel topping a light-weight, tender crumb.

supply of fats – Select butter or dairy-free butter, coconut oil or vegetable oil.

Utilizing coconut oil produces a barely crunchier texture, whereas crumble sweet bars made with butter or vegan butter are softer.

Wholesome Caramel Apple Bars

In search of a wholesome choice with added calcium and fiber?

Substitute chopped, pitted dried dates for the caramels in equal quantities.

Whereas they in fact do not style precisely the identical as conventional sweet, naturally sweetened dates have a taste profile and sweetness just like sweet.

Some readers wish to bake with out oil and substitute the butter with applesauce. Be happy to do that low-fat variation for your self. In case you are used to the style of wholesome desserts, chances are you’ll not thoughts the dense texture of the muffin.

Readers love these too Vegan Blueberry Happiness Bars

Apple and Caramel Bars Recipe Video

Watch the step-by-step video, above.

Recipe Suggestions and Troubleshooting

You may see within the video that I fully forgot so as to add cornstarch. Because of the excessive pectin content material within the apples, the bars nonetheless held collectively surprisingly properly and did not collapse like I anticipated.

So if you happen to make the identical mistake I did, bake the pan anyway and the outcomes will most likely be good!

If it is a humid day otherwise you by chance added an excessive amount of water and your dough is slightly rubbery, use a spoon to drop small items of dough as evenly as potential over all the pieces.

This downside has occurred to me earlier than and in the long run it nonetheless seems nice.

When made with coconut oil as an alternative of butter, the bars are slightly extra crumbly. I like to recommend chilling the pan after cooling for a couple of minutes, as a result of it would make chopping the bars a lot simpler and fewer messy.

Would you like extra bars? Do peach bars both Blueberry bars

The best way to make caramel apple bars

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 levels Fahrenheit.

Line the underside of an eight-inch sq. baking pan with parchment paper. Alternatively, grease the pan properly with oil or nonfat cooking spray. Set the pan apart.

In a big bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking powder very properly. In case you are utilizing unsalted butter or oil, add a further fourth teaspoon of salt.

Utilizing a pastry cutter, whisk, or fork, reduce within the butter or oil till small, pea-sized items type. If the dough is just too dry, slowly add slightly water.

*Fast and simple recipe tip: You’ll be able to reduce the butter or oil by pulsing the substances in a meals processor if you happen to want. Pulse about ten instances, ensuring to not overprocess the dough.

Press about two-thirds of the puff pastry very firmly into the underside of the ready eight-inch baking pan. You should utilize a second sheet of parchment paper or a big spoon to easy it out.

Peel the apples if you want or skip this step like I did.

Apple peel offers nutritional vitamins A, C, Okay and lots of different well being advantages, corresponding to fiber, calcium and potassium.

Minimize the apples into cubes or skinny slices. Then combine them in a bowl with cornstarch or arrowroot.

Unfold this apple filling over the bottom of the pan. Finely chop the caramels and unfold them evenly over the apples.

Sprinkle reserved batter evenly over high. As a enjoyable variation, you too can sprinkle a layer of oats or granola on high for slightly crunch.

Baking and Storage Directions

As soon as the oven reaches 350 levels, bake the pan on the middle rack for 50 minutes.

After this time, the apples ought to look bubbly and properly caramelized. Your kitchen will odor deliciously of sugar and cinnamon.

Fastidiously take away the tray of bars and allow them to relaxation on the counter.

It is necessary to allow them to cool earlier than chopping them into bars, as a result of they are going to harden as they cool.

Minimize into twelve giant bars or sixteen smaller sweet apple squares.

If I’ll a celebration the place I do know there will likely be lots of dessert choices, I typically reduce them into twenty and even twenty-five mini sweet apple bars. Folks love small desserts!

Retailer leftovers in a tightly coated container within the fridge for as much as 5 days.

Or freeze with a layer of parchment paper between every layer of bars. The recipe ought to keep good within the freezer for about three months. Thaw within the microwave or toaster oven, on the range, or in a single day within the fridge earlier than having fun with.

Subsequent on my baking checklist is to strive including cream cheese to the filling to create selfmade caramel apple cheesecake bars.

Additional sweet? Add them to three substances. Cereal bars

Changing the recipe to grams.

I like utilizing a meals scale as an alternative of cups and tablespoons, as a result of I feel it produces extra constant outcomes when baking.

Meals scales additionally imply much less cleanup, which is all the time a plus in my e book.

If you wish to use a kitchen scale for this recipe, measure 200 grams of flour, 130 grams of sugar, 7 grams of cinnamon, 8 grams of cornstarch, 150 grams of caramels, 150 grams of butter or oil and 320 grams of apple, measured after chopping them into cubes.

Additionally bear in mind so as to add the baking powder and salt.

The recipe was tailored from this. Crisp apple and my Apple Crumble Bars.

Applesauce Pie

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