Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are the perfect fall treat! These dessert bars have a shortbread cookie bottom, a sweet cheesecake filing topped with a brown sugar crumble topping and caramel sauce drizzled on top!
1cup butter, unsalted, softened to room temperature *if using salted butter do not add salt
Cheesecake Layer
2 blocks (8 oz. each)cream cheese *do not use fat free or low fat
1/2cupwhite sugar
2eggs
1tspvanilla extract
Cinnamon Apples
3 to 4cupsGranny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced small*about 5-6 apples - add more or less to your liking
2 1/2tbspwhite sugar
1 1/2tspground cinnamon
1/4tspground nutmeg
1 1/2tsplemon juice
Brown Sugar Crumble
1cupall purpose flour
1cupbrown sugar, packed
1/2cupdry oatmeal *I prefer quick oats
1tspground cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1/2cupbutter, unsalted, softened to room temperature*salted works fine too
Caramel Drizzle
1jar (around 11 oz.)caramel sauce *I prefer a salted caramel sauce, any brand works
Instructions
Cinnamon Apples (make this first so they are ready when you need them)
Mix together the sugar and spices for the cinnamon apples. Peel, core and dice your apples into small pieces. In a medium sized bowl, add your diced apples and lemon juice. Add your spice mix and stir the apples making sure the lemon juice and spices cover them evenly. Set aside.
Brown Sugar Crumble (make this 2nd)
Add the dry ingredients to a bowl (everything but the butter), and mix them together. Add in the softened butter and mix well. The crumble is not super wet…it is a dry crumble (you can see the photos in the blog post above). Set aside.
Making the Shortbread Cookie (make this third)
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper leaving some extra hanging over the pan (see blog post above) or grease a 9x13 baking dish.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix all of the shortbread ingredients together. It will seem dry at first but keep mixing it and it will form a dough. Press it into the 9x13 pan and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until it is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center. Take it out of the oven when it is done.*A hand mixer will work or mix it by hand.
Cheesecake Layer (make this last while the shortbread bakes)
In a stand mixer using the whisk attachment (hand mixer or by hand work too), add your cream cheese and sugar and cream them together on medium speed. Add in your vanilla and eggs. Mix well until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
Finishing the Cheesecake Bars
Pour the cheesecake filling onto the warm just baked shortbread layer. Drop the cinnamon apples on top of the cheesecake filing. ***DO NOT POUR THE APPLES ON THE CHEESCAKE…there will be extra lemon juice in the bottom of the bowl of apples and you do not want this to be poured on the cheesecake layer. So scoop the apples by hand and spread them on the cheesecake layer by hand. Finally, spread the brown sugar crumble layer on top of the apples. Place in the oven, uncovered (keep the temperature at 350°F). Bake the cheesecake bars for 30-35 minutes or until the cheesecake layer is set and the crumble topping is toasted. You can check that the cheesecake is set by gently poking a fork in the center. It should be soft but not runny. After the cheesecake layer is set, take them out of the oven and let them cool.Place the bars in the fridge to chill for 3 to 4 hours.After the bars have chilled, before serving, drizzle your caramel sauce over the bars!Cut and serve!!!Recipe adapted from Dessert Now Dinner Later!
Notes
Notes on Prep/cooking Time: This recipe takes a lot of time! It take about 30 minutes to make each layer (cut and peel apples, mix the shortbread layer and cheesecake layer. Etc.). The dessert than needs to bake 2 different times…once to bake the shortbread layer and once to bake the cheesecake layer with the crumble topping. The dessert then needs to chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours. You can add as many cinnamon apples as you would like. If you want a lot of apples, add more. If you want less, add less. Drizzle the caramel sauce after the bars have chilled, before serving. You can add as much or as little as you like! Whipped cream is also delicious on the top of these bars for serving!Store any leftovers in the fridge. You can take the bars out 30 minutes before serving if you want them a bit softer.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.