Caramel Apple Pie Bars with Cinnamon Pecan Streusel

These easy apple pie bars have a shortbread crust, rich apple layer, and a cinnamon pecan streusel topping.  Drizzle with caramel for a classic treat!

All the classic flavors of a Dutch caramel apple pie, in an easy bar dessert!  These apple pie bars might just be your new favorite dessert this Fall!

Guess what today is?  You guys, today is the first day of Fall!!  So it’s official… we can start getting those pumpkin spice lattes, cheering on our favorite football teams, and eating a bunch of apples!

I LOVE apple pie, but sometimes, I just realllllly don’t want to mess with making a pie crust (mainly rolling out the dough!).  That’s when I had the idea for these apple pie bars.

All the great classic flavors of a Dutch apple pie, but none of the hassle!  I use the shortbread crust from my Vanilla Chai Cheesecake Bars (seriously, make those!!), and it gives these bars a nice buttery chewiness.

You can eat these apple pie bars “au naturale” as shown above… and they’re delicious that way… but why not, go for some extra indulgence and drizzle some Browned Butter Salted Caramel Sauce!!

Orrrrr, you can be REALLY decadent and add a scoop of ultra creamy No-Churn Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream.  Go on… you know you want to!

These apple pie bars are a cinch to bake, there’s just 3 separate things to make, then you combine them and bake.

Here’s the breakdown

• Mix up shortbread dough and press into a parchment paper lined baking pan
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• While crust is baking, peel and slice apples.
• Toss sliced apples with butter, sugar, cinnamon and flour.  Set aside.
• Make streusel topping (I find the food processor makes it really easy!)
• Top baked crust with sliced apples, drizzle with caramel if desired, then sprinkle with streusel.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Some Helpful Tools For This Recipe:

8″x 8″ baking pan – This pan is sturdy and I use it for SO many desserts!

Cuisinart Food Processor – Forget cutting in butter by hand, try it in the food processor!

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!

Caramel Apple Pie Bars with Cinnamon Pecan Streusel

4.84 from 6 votes

Author: The Chunky Chef

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 9 servings

(hover over # to adjust)

Print Rate Pin

These easy apple pie bars have a shortbread crust, rich apple layer, and a cinnamon pecan streusel topping. Drizzle with caramel for a classic treat!

Ingredients

• ▢ SHORTBREAD:
• ▢ 1/2 cup butter melted
• ▢ 1/4 cup light brown sugar packed
• ▢ 1/4 tsp salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ APPLE LAYER:
• ▢ 2 large Granny Smith apples peeled and sliced into 1/4" thick slices
• ▢ 2 1/2 Tbsp melted butter
• ▢ 2 Tbsp light brown sugar
• ▢ 1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ▢ CINNAMON PECAN STREUSEL:
• ▢ 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats divided
• ▢ 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• ▢ 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/2 cup cold butter cubed
• ▢ 1/2 cup pecans chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Line an 8"x8" baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
• Melt butter in microwave, then add brown sugar and whisk to combine.
• Add salt and cinnamon, stir, then add flour and stir until well combined.
• Press dough into prepared pan in an even layer.
• Bake 15 minutes, then set aside.
• Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
• While crust is baking, prepare apples and add to medium mixing bowl.
• Toss apple slices with butter, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon.
• Add flour, 1/4 cup oats, brown sugar and cinnamon to a food processor. Add cubes of cold butter and pulse until butter is cut into mixture and pea sized pieces form.
• Add streusel to a small bowl and stir in chopped pecans and remaining 1/4 cup oats.
• Layer apple slices over top of the shortbread crust, then top with streusel topping.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, until streusel is lightly golden brown and apples are cooked through.
• Drizzle with caramel and top with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!

Chef Tips

1. If desired, drizzle extra caramel sauce over the top of the apples before you add the streusel.

Video

Nutrition Disclaimer

The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

Did You Make This?Tag @the_chunky_chef on Instagram and hashtag it #thechunkychef so I can see what you made!

Tag on Insta! Leave a Rating Save for Later Saved!