Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars

  Well, it's officially Fall, and whenever I think of Fall, I think of baking things with apples and pumpkin. Yes, I'm THAT guy who loves everything pumpkin, but as I've often said, if you were to ask me what my favorite dessert is, in the whole wide world, in the history of ever, it would be an apple pie with vanilla ice cream and caramel poured over the top. Hands down. Like, there's not even another dessert that comes close. As much as I love a chocolate this and a chocolate that, I'd rather go for the warm cinnamon and apples that make the whole house smell like home. So when I was looking for an apple pie something to bake, I happened upon this little gem of an idea. Yes, they're apple pie, yes, they're BARS, and yes, they have caramel drizzled over them, and not only that it's SALTED caramel. Um, YES PLEASE.
 OK, so let's look around and see if I can find the right recipe. WHOA. Who knew there would be so many variations???? I found literally no less that 10 different versions on different cooking blogs all over the place. But then, I noticed something.. many of the recipes were adapted from (or inspired by) a particular version on one of my favorite websites, a blog called Sally's Baking Addiction. It seemed to me that this was the standard against which all others were compared. So I figured, well clearly that's the one I need to make!
And as luck would have it, I just happened to have all of the ingredients to make it! Perfect! At first, it seemed like a lot, but upon closer look, there was really nothing difficult about it. The dessert has several layers, so it stands to reason that the recipe would have several steps. All very simple!
And O. M. G. can I just tell you how heavenly they smell while they're baking?  I'm not even kidding. Oh, btw, whenever I share a recipe, I usually give you a few hints and helps, but Sally has already done that for me too. So, thank you, Sally, for yet another wonderful recipe and also for the hints! I remain a huge fan! It's nice to share something from someone who clearly loves baking as much as I do!
And the next time YOU happen to be looking for an apple pie something to bake, give this one a try.
Everyone will be glad you did!


Crust:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Apple filling:
2 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced (1/4 inch thick)
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel:
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Caramel Drizzle:
Here's the link for SBA's Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce 
or you can just do what I did..
I melted a bag of Kraft caramel bits with 1/4 cup of milk, then added a tsp of kosher salt.



 Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, leaving enough overhang on all sides. Set aside.

Make the crust:
Stir the melted butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir until everything is combined. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes while you prepare the filling and streusel.

Make the apple filling;
 Combine the sliced apples, flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl until all of the apples are evenly coated. Set aside.

Make the streusel:
  Whisk the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together in a medium bowl. Cut in the chilled butter with a pastry blender or two forks (or even with your hands) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

 Remove the crust from the oven, and turn the oven up to 350°F. Evenly layer the apples on top of the warm crust. It will look like there are too many apple slices, so layer them tightly and press them down to fit. Sprinkle the apple layer with streusel and bake for 30–35 minutes or until the streusel is golden brown.
 Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes at room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (or overnight). Lift the foil or parchment out of the pan using the overhang on the sides and cut into bars. I usually cut them into 16 smaller bars, but you can cut them into 12 larger bars. Once cut, drizzle some salted caramel sauce on top of each. These apple pie bars can be enjoyed warm, at room temperature, or even cold.




Sally's Tips:
The bars will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. You can freeze the bars for up to 3 months. Then, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving and drizzling with caramel. I like to use two different kinds of apples for a more complex flavor. I typically use 1 tart apple variety such as Granny Smith, and 1 sweeter apple variety such as Pink Lady. You'll end up with about 3-4 cups. A little more or less is OK, based on your preference of filling. Recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 9x13 pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes and cool completely as directed in this recipe.

Joey's final thoughts:
Of course I doubled it and baked it in a 9x13 pan. Because MORE IS MORE! I used Honeycrisp apples because they're my absolute favorite. And then I added an extra little sprinkle of salt over the top. You do you!!