Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars

Shortbread Crust:

½ cup butter, melted

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp salt

1 cup flour

Apple Filling:

2 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced (¼ inch thick)

2 T flour

2 T sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

⅛ tsp ground nutmeg

Streusel:

½ cup old-fashioned oats

⅓ cup brown sugar

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ cup flour

¼ cup butter, cold and cubed

homemade salted caramel or store-bought caramel sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 300°. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper leaving enough overhang on all sides. Set aside.
2. Make the crust: Stir the melted butter, 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.
3. Combine the sliced apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl until all of the apples are evenly coated. Set aside.
4. Whisk the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together in a medium bowl. Cut in the chilled butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
5. Turn the oven up to 350°. 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 the 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 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.