These Caramel Apple bars are so easy to make, yet beautifully satisfying! A crumbly oat mixture is layered with spiced apples before being baked and drizzled with caramel sauce. All of our favourite Fall flavours in one bar.
Man, do I have a recipe for you today!!
These are literally like eating a combination of apple pie and apple crumble, but in bar form – meaning you can have this Autumn deliciousness on the go!
Obviously being a baker is pretty cool and you get plenty of perks, like trying what you make…
Whenever I make something, I always get a spoon and just try a corner. Or I’m supposed to. With these, I literally kept going in with my spoon and ended up eating 2 slices worth. :O
And then because they are crumbly I probably ate another slices worth whilst styling them! 😉
I’m normally pretty strict with myself and just allow myself to have a small piece, but I couldn’t stop!
I guess that’s testament to how damn fine these bars are 🙂
These are so simple to make and combine all the best things about Autumn. You don’t need any fancy ingredients either, the main ones are oats, apples and caramel – the only other ingredients are a bit of butter, some sugar, flour and spices – I bet you have all of those things right in your kitchen now!
Now, you can obviously use any apples you like, but I like a nice crisp, tart apple so I used Granny Smiths. To jazz them up I tossed them in some cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and just a tiny amount of flour so I didn’t end up with a big wet mess!
The oat layer is my go-to recipe for oatmeal which holds – butter, flour, oats, vanilla and a mixture of white and light brown sugar. I think with the caramel if I’d have used all brown sugar, these may have been too caramel-y (If that’s even possible?!) – so I used the white sugar to break it up a bit and it worked so well 🙂
If you’ve read my blog for a while, you’ll probably have seen these Caramel Apple Muffins from last year – they quickly became one of the most popular recipes on this little blog, so I know how much you guys love the caramel apple combination too – It seemed only natural to bring you another recipe combining the two this year.
The apples in these bars get all tender and juicy once baked and the crumbly oats add a sweet, slightly crunchy contrast. Added to this, the sticky, rich caramel and you have one heavenly dessert!
But don’t take my word for it! Go make some ASAP!
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Caramel Apple Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- For the filling:
- 2 cups (220g) fresh apples, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- Pinch of ground cloves
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- For the oatmeal:
- 1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, set at room temperature for 10 mins before use
- 1/4 cup (50g) light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) caster sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (135g) oats, not quick cook
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- For the glaze:
- 1/3 cup (100g) Carnation Caramel (heaping cup)
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F and grease and line an 8x8 inch square pan.
- Place chopped apples into a medium sized bowl. Place cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and flour into a small bowl and mix together briefly.
- Add the spice mix to the apples and toss until the apples are covered, leave to one side.
- Make the oat mix: Place butter, sugars, oats and vanilla into a large bowl and rub together until you have a coarse breadcrumb texture - if you have some larger lumps this is fine.
- Tip 2/3 of the oat mixture into your lined tin and press into the tin firmly until level.
- Sprinkle the apples on top of the oat layer and then add the remaining 1/3 mix of oats on top.
- Press the oat mixture until level, having some apples poking through is perfect.
- Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes until lightly golden, slightly cracked and the apples are tender when skewered.
- Leave to cool in the tin completely before slicing into 9-12 bars.
- Place the caramel and milk into a medium bowl and whisk until combined and smooth.
- Drizzle or spoon glaze onto cooled bars.
- Oatmeal bars will keep in an airtight container, at room temperature for 3 days (apple may go a little soft).
