Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Delicious is an understatement when it comes to these Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars.  The shortbread crust stays crunchy under the smooth and silky cheesecake filling, the apples are tender and full of spicy fall flavors while the oat crumble topping bakes beautifully to golden-brown perfection.  The rich caramel sauce that is delicately cascaded over the top of the bars, tie the entire recipe together.  These Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are so versatile, they are perfect for a casual BBQ or could be elegant enough for a dessert after a fancy dinner.

I like to make up the oat crumb topping first. A cold topping bakes to a nice crispy crumble.  In a bowl, add oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and cubed butter.  Mix with hands to break up the butter and combined all ingredients into pea-sized crumbs. Cover and pop the mixture into the fridge.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line your baking dish with parchment paper, so there is about a two-inch overhang on each side. Because of all the layers in these bars, the parchment paper makes it a breeze to lift out without disturbing the goodness.

Buttery Shortbread Crust

Start by making the buttery shortbread crust for the caramel apple cheesecake bars.  To really drive home the taste of Fall, I have added some spices to my shortbread recipe. Leave out the spices if you need a plain shortbread crust recipe for another recipe.  To make this recipe even easier, I use a food processor. Throw in the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and give a couple of pulses.  Cube the cold butter and add to the flour mixture.  Pulse until a ball of dough is formed.

Press mixture in your lined baking dish and bake at 350 F degrees for 10-15 minutes until firm.

While the shortbread is baking, make the cheesecake filling in the food processor.  Add the room temperature cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and eggs and process until smooth.  When the crust is set, bring out of the oven and let cool slightly. 

Sugar & Spice Apples

Peel and dice apples. For this caramel apple cheesecake bar recipe, I used Honeycrisp and Granny Smith. With their sweet and tart flavors and tender flesh, they are the perfect blend. For a great recipe to use your apple peels and cores, check out my apple tea recipe.  Toss the apples in sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  By now, the crust has cooled enough to pour the cream cheese filling and sprinkle with the apples. 

Add the oat crumb topping, and you are ready to bake the caramel apple cheesecake bars. Bake at 350 F degrees for 30-40 minutes until the cheesecake layer is set.  You can tell the center is set by giving the pan a little shake, and if the topping stays in place, your good to go!  Let cool and pop into the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Lift out using your parchment paper flaps and lay on a cutting board.  At this point, I do a little bit of trimming to clean up the edges. 

Perfect Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Cut the Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars into 16 rectangles.  Cut larger or smaller depending on how many you need.  The next part is the most exciting—the drizzling of the caramel sauce.  You can use store-bought, I won’t judge, but homemade caramel is beyond. There aren’t enough words to describe homemade caramel, but it would be heavenly if I had to choose one.  Here is my recipe for the richest, gooiest, perfectly balanced, old fashioned tasting caramel sauce. It is perfection and should be added to everything. Once you have a beautiful even drizzle on all the bars, lift the parchment paper back into the baking dish, and you’re ready to travel with your dessert or serve immediately after a meal.