The Best Salted Caramel Apple Bars
The crisp autumn air, crunching leaves, campfires and hot cider are giving me all the cozy fall feels. October is completely dedicated to Halloween treats + sweets. This is my take on a nostalgic classic, the caramel apple. This quintessential fall treat will become… the Salted Caramel Apple Bars! These are so delicious! There are lots of variations out there but I’m sticking to the granny smith apple dipped in caramel and covered in crushed peanuts version. And, while I love the classic treat, sometimes I want NEED more caramel and peanuts in each bite. The Salted Caramel Apple Bar hits all of those flavors and textures at once for the perfect bite every time.
Ingredients
The Salted Caramel Apple Bars have simple, delicious ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry right now.
- Vegan Butter — Vegan Butter gives the shortbread, caramel and streusel that buttery flavor and helps to crisp up the streusel
- Cane Sugar — Cane sugar sweetens the shortbread and caramel
- Vanilla + Sea Salt — Brings out the flavors
- Flour — All purpose flour is essential to the structure of the shortbread crust
- Apples — Granny Smith Apples really give this bar that tart bite and balance out the buttery sweetness of the bar
- Peanuts — The Virginia Peanuts are so good and super crunchy with great flavor. Peanuts add a nutty crunch and that nostalgic flavor combo we know and love
- Old fashioned Rolled Oats — Oats enhance the nutty flavor and are essential to the streusel
- Brown Sugar — Adds a rich caramel-y sweetness to the streusel
- Coconut Cream — Coconut cream makes the caramel rich and velvety
How to Make Salted Caramel Apple Bars
The Salted Caramel Apple Bar has 4 easy components:
1. Caramel
2. Shortbread crust
3. Caramel Apple Filling
4. Peanut Streusel
The salted caramel is that perfect balance of sweet and salty. The shortbread crust is buttery and delicious. The caramel apple filling is made with granny smith apples for that tartness in each bite. And lastly, the peanut streusel is loaded with chopped peanuts, brown sugar and oats. It is truly one of my favorite bars.
Prepare the Salted Caramel Apple Bars
- Start with the caramel. This can be made ahead of time. And you will have plenty leftover to put on anything i.e. brownies, ice cream, cheesecake etc. It comes together quickly without the use of a candy thermometer. Make sure to cool to room temp completely before use.
2. Next is the buttery, vanilla shortbread crust. It gets pressed into a baking dish + par-baked.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the apples and the streusel. I recommend sticking to Granny Smith apples. You want that tartness to balance out the sweet/salty from the caramel and peanuts. Cut the apples into chunks and coat with the salted caramel.
4. Now it’s time to make the peanut streusel. Nuts in streusel is my new favorite thing — so so good. I recently discovered Virginia peanuts. They are super extra crunchy. If you can get your hands on those — get them, trust me they are worth it! Next level peanuts.
After the shortbread crust comes out and all of the components are ready, it’s time to assemble!
Assemble the Bars
5. First spread out the salted caramel apple chunks evenly over the crust. 6. Sprinkle the peanut streusel over the apples, leaving larger clumps together and evenly cover the apples. 7. Back into the oven for 35 minutes. After it comes out, cool to room temperature for 30 minutes then chill in fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.
Cut into 9 large squares or 16 bite size squares. Drizzle generously with caramel and more chopped peanuts.
These crumbly bars hit all of the tart/sweet/salty bits in EVERY bite.
Salted Caramel Apple Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, melted
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
Apple Filling
- 2 large organic Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2" chunks
- 1/4 cup salted caramel
Peanut Streusel
- 1/4 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped
- 1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup vegan butter, cold + cubed
Salted Caramel
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 6 TBS vegan butter
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 1 tsp sea salt
Garnish with Salted Caramel and chopped Peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F
- Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper that overhangs on each side. This will make it easy to lift the bars out of the pan.
- Start the Salted Caramel: Measure all ingredients before starting, as things will move quickly and it's important to keep a watchful eye on the stove. Keep a heat proof spatula and whisk handy. Add the cane sugar to a heavy bottom saucepan at med-low heat. Try not to stir, but swirl the sugar. It's important to not get any sugar crystals stuck to the sides of the pan. Using a spatula can get into the corners of the pan. Once it's starting to turn an amber brown, start adding in the butter whisking quickly. Be careful, it will start to bubble up a bit. Whisk for 2 minutes. If it seems like its separating, keep whisking. It will come back together. Then slowly add the coconut cream and let it low boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add the sea salt. Set aside to cool at room temp.
- Prepare the shortbread crust: Whisk together the sugar, salt, and flour into a medium bowl. Add the melted vegan butter and vanilla extract and combine until just comes together. Press evenly into the prepared 8×8 pan. Bake for 20 min.
- Meanwhile, prepare the apples and streusel. Cut the apples into 1/2" chunks and toss with 1/4 cup salted caramel. Set aside.
- For the peanut streusel: In a medium bowl combine the oats, chopped peanuts, brown sugar and flour. Cut in vegan butter with a fork or use your hands until you get some walnut size crumbles. Lightly squeeze mixture together to form the crumbly streusel — don't go too far, you don't want to melt the butter or blend it in.
- After the shortbread crust comes out of the oven. Crank it up the 350°F. Now it's time for assembly! Spread the salted caramel apple chunks evenly over the crust. Then cover the apples with the peanut streusel, leaving the larger clumps together. It all goes back into the oven for 30-35 min.
- Cool bars at room temp for 30 min. Then chill in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours. Use the parchment to lift bars out of the baking pan to make cutting easier. Cut into 9 large squares or 16 minis. Drizzle GENEROUSLY with salted caramel and chopped peanuts.
I hope this inspires you to try these out. Salted Caramel Apple Bars will become your new favorite fall treat. And now you’ve got caramel on-hand for this and that, which is always a good thing. If you give it a go please rate, comment or tag me, I’d love to see how they turned out! Instagram @ritualpastry #ritualpastry Did you miss last week’s recipe? You can’t go wrong with Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies Stay tuned for next week’s Halloween treat…
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