Delicious Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars: A heavenly blend of creamy cheesecake, crisp apples, and gooey caramel, all nestled atop a buttery, golden-brown crust.
The Best Apple Cheesecake Bars
I have a deep love for Fall desserts. There’s something truly special about the warm spices combined with caramel apples and cheesecake. Merging these ingredients together seems like a match made in heaven.
Do you love caramel and apple together? Make sure to check out our Slow Cooker Salted Caramel Apple Butter recipe. It screams delicious fall flavors!
What You’ll Need
- Crust: The crust of the cheesecake bars is made with light brown sugar, crushed graham cracker crumbs, old-fashioned oats, and salted butter.
- Cheesecake filling: The cheesecake filling is made using full fat cream cheese, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, sour cream, eggs and seasonings like ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract.
- Apple crisp topping: The apple topping is made of all-purpose flour, old-fashioned oats, light brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and Honeycrisp apples.
- Prepared Caramel Sauce
How to Make Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Just a few easy steps to make these delicious bars that will impress everyone!
Make the Graham Cracker Crust: Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray. or line with parchment paper. Pulse the crust ingredients in the food processor and make coarse crumbs. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the baking dish. Bake for 5 minutes and set aside.
Mix the Cheesecake Filling: Using a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and brown sugar together until it is light and fluffy. Add in the seasoning and cornstarch. Pour the cheesecake layer on top of the crust.
Combine the Apple Crisp Topping: Using an electric mixer, combine all the topping ingredients in a small bowl and stir with a fork. Lay the chopped apples down as a layer on top of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle the crumbly topping on top with the crisp filling for 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Place in the refrigerator overnight. Top with caramel drizzle.
Can I Freeze This Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bar Recipe?
This is a fantastic dessert that usually flies out of the pan, but you might find a time where you have leftovers or maybe you just want to make this ahead of time to always have caramel apple cheesecake bars on hand. If you want to make sure you always have cheesecake bars, you can use this recipe and freeze the bars.
Whether it is because you have leftovers or because you want to make a batch to freeze, I think it works best to freeze individual servings. Cut the cheesecake bars and wrap each one in plastic. This lets you take smaller portions out of the freezer and there is no need to worry about taking out too many.
Once wrapped, put them all in a freezer bag or airtight container. This will keep them all together in the freezer. You can freeze these bars for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the refrigerator overnight when ready to serve.
Can I Use Apple Pie Filling Instead of Fresh Apples for This Apple Crisp Bar?
If you do not have fresh apples on hand or would prefer to use a pie filling, you certainly can. When using a pie filling, it should have the apple seasonings in it already, so you do not need to add it.
If you think the pie filling needs more seasoning, you can add more cinnamon. You do not need to add the brown sugar because the pie filling is already sweetened, but you will still add the flour and old fashion oats.
You might need to play with the recipe to get the apple crisp layer just right since consistency will vary from brand to brand to brand.
What Apples Should I Use?
You need to make sure you are using baking apples. I prefer to use Honeycrisp apples in this recipe. It is my go to. However, you can also use Granny Smith apples, Gala, Jonagold, Braeburn, and Pink Lady. These apples have a firm texture and a sweet-tart flavor, making them suitable for baking because they hold their shape well and don’t turn mushy during the cooking process.
More Dessert Bars
I might be a little obsessed with dessert bars. How can I not be? They are easy to make, the kids love them and when we sit down for dessert, bars are less messy than some other dessert.
When it comes to making dessert bars one of my favorites is Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Bars. The name says it all. Chocolate chip cookies and brownies all in one bite. I have made a few other cookie bars, and seriously they are just as good as the chocolate chip cookie bars.
Try these Red Velvet Chocolate Chunk Bars or Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars for a fun spin on classic cookies and cake.
If cheesecake is more you taste, and who doesn’t love cheesecake, then you are going to love Hot Fudge Cheesecake Bars or Cherry Pie Brownie Cheesecake Bars
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 3 Tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 cup crushed graham crackers
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 6 Tbsp salted butter melted
For the cheesecake filling:
- 2 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp sour cream
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For the apple crisp topping:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 large honeycrisp apples peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup caramel sauce for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix together crushed graham crackers, oats, brown sugar, and melted butter.
- Press crust into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. and bake for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together cream cheese, granulated sugar, brown sugar and sour cream until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg until combined.
- Pour cheesecake filling into the cooled crust and set aside.
- For the topping, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a small bowl and stir with a fork until combined. Evenly cover the cheesecake filling with the chopped apple and then the streusel topping.
- Top cheesecake filling with the apple crisp topping and bake for 45-50 minutes. Center will jiggle slightly. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
- Place cheesecake in the fridge to chill for 8 hours or overnight.
- Lift cheesecake out of the pan using the parchment paper. Slice into 12 bars and serve with a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Last Step:
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