Made with a shortbread crust, spiced apple filling, streusel topping, and homemade salted caramel, apple pie bars are just as delicious as apple pie, but much simpler to make. You’ll love this fun twist on a classic dessert!
Without a doubt, apple pie is my favorite dessert. I love the combination of sweet and tart spiced apples with the buttery, flaky pie crust. It’s cozy, comforting, and simply irresistible. I have the recipe memorized and make it year-round, not just at Thanksgiving. Today’s recipe is the bar version of my salted caramel apple pie (the first apple pie recipe I ever shared on my website!). While I love the pie making process, sometimes we don’t have hours to prepare a dessert, which is where apple pie BARS come in. No traditional pie crust, but same delicious flavors.
It’s why I’ve created bar versions of some of the most popular pies on my site, such as pumpkin pie bars, cherry pie bars, and blueberry pie bars.
3 Layers to Love
- Shortbread Crust: The buttery shortbread crust is just like my favorite pie crust recipe, only easier. It’s simply perfect as the base layer for all your favorite bar desserts. I actually use the same shortbread crust in my recipe for raspberry streusel bars and double the recipe for my lemon bars. It comes together quickly—no waiting for pie dough to chill.
- Apple Pie Filling: No canned filling here. You only need 5 ingredients to make your own apple pie filling and it tastes incredible!
- Streusel Topping: Instead of a top layer of pie crust like you see on traditional apple pies, we’re topping these apple pie bars with streusel. It’s a scaled up version of the topping on our caramel apple cheesecake pie. Lots of streusel because the more streusel the better. 🙂
Best Apples for Apple Pie Bars
Whenever I make apple pie bars, apple pie, or even apple cake, I always use 2 different kinds of apples for more depth of flavor. (One sweet variety, one tart variety.)
Here are some I suggest:
- Sweet apples I love: Jazz, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Gala, Fuji, and Cortland
- Tart apples I love: Granny Smith, Braeburn, Jonathan, and Pacific Rose
For a detailed list of my favorite apple varieties and when to use each, you can visit my post The Best Apples for Baking.
Overview: How to Make Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars
Homemade apple pie bars are incredibly simple to make. There’s just a few steps before you have a delicious fall dessert on your hands!
- Make the shortbread crust. Press the mixture into the bottom of an 8×8 inch pan.
- Bake the shortbread crust for 15 minutes.
- Make the apple pie filling.
- Make the streusel topping. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.
- Layer the apple pie filling evenly on top of the crust. It will look like there are too many apple slices, so layer them tightly and press them down to fit.
- Sprinkle on the streusel topping.
- Bake. These bars take about 30-35 minutes, or until the streusel is golden brown.
- Chill the bars. Allow them to cool for at least 20 minutes at room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
- Cut into bars and drizzle with salted caramel.
Salted Caramel Topping
A generous drizzle of salted caramel takes these incredible apple pie bars to a whole new level. Have you ever made salted caramel before? You must. My recipe for homemade salted caramel is liquid gold and dangerously good. Besides these apple pie bars, it’s delicious on ice cream, pancakes, with apple slices, and more—find 50 ways to eat salted caramel here.
Be warned: Once you start, you won’t be able to stop. I make a batch of salted caramel almost every week and see no problem with this!
One bite of these sweet and salty apple pie bars and you’ll wonder why you haven’t made them sooner!
More Apple Desserts
- Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
- Apple Bundt Cake
- Caramel Apples
- Apple Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting
- Brown Butter Apple Blondies
- Apple Turnovers
- Apple Pie
And honeycrisp apple sangria for a fun fall drink!
Print
Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 20 minutes
- Yield: 12-16 bars
- Category: Bars
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Baking apple pie as bars is so much easier!
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
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 (43g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 1/3 cup (70g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- homemade salted caramel or store-bought caramel sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (149°C). Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with 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 and then remove from the oven. (As the crust bakes, you can 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.
- Turn the oven up to 350°F (177°C). 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.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: 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.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 8-inch Square Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula or Wooden Spoon | Pastry Blender
- Apples: 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.
- Larger Batch: Recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 9×13-inch pan. Pre-bake the crust for 18 minutes, then extend the bake time in step 5 to about 45-55 minutes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can I make these into small tarts?
Hi Louise, this recipe should work well in small tart pans. We’re unsure of the exact yield and bake time. Let us know if you try it!
Could I substitute a Graham cracker crust instead of shortbread? If so, should I bake it beforehand?
Hi Marissa, a graham cracker crust may get a little soft, but it should still be good! Make sure you pre-bake it for at least 10 minutes.
Has anyone tried freezing these? Hopping to make ahead while I have fresh apples for Christmas
See recipe Notes for freezing instructions!
I make this every fall- everyone loves it. I send the link to so many people because they ask me for the recipe. I love what you do, Sally!
Have you tried using oat flour with this recipe? I make shortbread cookies with oat flour and they come out great. Wondering if the substitution would work here.
Hi Renee, we haven’t tested oat flour here. Let us know if you do!
Delicious! Would you please consider adding the nutritional information for the recipe, please? I need it for my calorie tracking app, and to know how much insulin to use.
Hi Linda, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
This is my go-to apple bar recipe! It’s always a hit- I often make it without the caramel drizzle and add extra apples- this recipe is a keeper
Fantastic recipe! Someone gave me a bunch of cosmic crisp apples from their tree and I thought I’d try this recipe to start using them up. I wish I had doubled the recipe and perhaps added 1 additional apple (my apples were medium in size). Will definitely make again. Bonus: they were also attractive.
This recipe was a big hit! Made it twice in one weekend.
I made these for a work potluck and everyone loved them! They always love what I make and I tell them it’s another Sally’s Baking Addiction Recipe! I saved some for my family and they thought it was better than apple pie!
Perfect Apple treat! Ingredients were in house and it was simple to make. I used 6 cups Fuji apples, added extra Tblsp each of flour and sugar to apples to account for the extra apple. Baked 35 min and it was perfect.
These were delicious even without the salted caramel sauce (didn’t have time to make it). However, my bars never really crisped up on top and were mushy. I cooked the shortbread layer a few min more than called for because it looked so soft before I took them out. I thought the filling would be ok but they didn’t seem cooked. I left them in longer—maybe 7-8 min longer, which I normally do not do. I follow Sally’s recipes to the letter and they do not disappoint. Wondering if I did something wrong? The recipe is very straightforward, and not technique laden, so I don’t know what the issue would have been. They tasted great but the sogginess was not something I enjoyed!! Please let me know if there was anything I could have done differently. Thank you !!!
Hi Wendy, yes, these are soft bars—not hard or crunchy. Did they solidify a bit more as they cooled? But if you decide to try them again, feel free to bake a few extra minutes if you want them a little more solid. You can even tent the top with foil to prevent burning. Hope this helps!
Will these turn out the same if I use quick oatmeal instead of old fashioned?
Hi Stacie, we only suggest old fashioned whole oats for their big chunky and chewy texture. That being said, you can sub a thinner oat like quick oats if you’d like.
This was a big hit. I swapped the nutmeg with pumpkin pie spice and did not add the caramel topping
I was wondering if I doubled this recipe, could I use a 9X13 pan?
Hi Karen, absolutely. See recipe notes for 9×13 version. Enjoy!
Favourite apple dessert recipe!!!! Super quick and easy to make! I opt for this instead of an apple crisp because of the additional shortbread base. This was my third time making it in a few years and it is still as good as ever!
Hi! is there a way you would suggest baking caramel into the bars?
Hi Krista, this salted caramel isn’t the best for baking into bars, brownies, etc., so we recommend sticking with the drizzle on top!
Hello! Would it be possible to bake this in a tart pan? Would I need to reduce the amount of apples?
Hi Maya, We haven’t tested this recipe in a tart pan, but it should work great!
Made your recipe . Good ratio to crust , apple( I added one more) to streusel topping. Baked it a little longer (another 10 minutes). I don’t think you could add much to make it any better. It’s a keeper for me. and my husband.
These were so good!!! I couldn’t wait for them to fully cool so I ate a piece right away and actually prefer them warm. Then I couldn’t stop myself and ended up eating 3 more pieces Reminds me of the perfect fall dessert I also added a few more spices (dash of cloves and allspice). I wouldn’t mind adding a bit more cinnamon next time. Thank you for the recipe!
These bars are delicious. The only issue is the next day they were kind of soggy. I live in Houston with high humidity and these bars don’t do well in humidity. But they are fabulous if you are serving them the day you make them
Is there a way to switch out something else for the oats in the streusel topping? Say maybe nuts ? Or leave it out all together? We are not big fans of oats in our streusel topping. Also I’m just going to use my homemade apple pie spice, I love the taste it gives apples.
Hi Diana, sure! We recommend trying the crumb topping from this crumb cake recipe. It will be just the right amount for this pan of bars.
Hi Sally, could this be made with vegan butter? I’m looking for something to bake for work and there’s one vegan and one who doesn’t like chocolate! These look really easy to make vegan by swapping the butter but I was just wondering if they’d still taste ok. Thanks!
Hi Alie, We haven’t made the apple pie bars with vegan butter, but you can certainly try!
I made 3 pans of apple pie bars using apples we picked at a local farm and my family went CRAZY over them! Comments like “these are AMAZING” and “OMG this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten!” were sent to me. Thank you, Sally, for another great recipe! You never fail me!
So glad to read this!
This a great recipe
Can you use almond flour for the crust and filling? If so, any changes in measurements or cooking time? How would the taste be different?
Hi Peggy, we don’t recommend almond flour here. It has very different baking properties than all-purpose flour and isn’t always a 1:1 swap. It’s best to stick with all-purpose flour here.
These were wonderful! I work at an RV park and bake cookies every Monday, these were a huge hit! I made them exactly as the recipe says and they were awesome.
This recipe is absolutely wonderful. Plus I have a half jar of salted caramel left. Dangerous
I plan on baking these two days before serving them. Do I drizzle with caramel after baking or before serving? Thanks!
Hi Andrea, we’d recommend waiting until ready to serve. Enjoy!
This recipe is amazing and doesn’t even need the caramel. Didn’t even get to put them in the fridge before it disappeared.