Cheesecake, apple crisp, oatmeal cookies....as the song goes, these are a few of my favorite things. If you're like me and find it a bit of a challenge to pick a single sweet treat to make, I have some good news: these Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars combine all those delectable flavors into one truly amazing dessert.
Five layers of utter deliciousness, these Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars will be your new favorite dessert!
These bars start off with a chewy oatmeal cookie crust. Then a layer of rich and creamy cheesecake filling is added, followed by sweet and tart apples and a crumbly streusel topping. And to top it all off, a drizzle of homemade caramel sauce. There is really only one word to describe them, and that word is WOW!
What are the best apples for baking?
- My favorite baking apples are Fuji Apples or Honeycrisp Apples. Both varieties hold up really well during baking and have the perfect amount of sweet/tart ratio.
- Other good baking apples Jonagold or Granny Smith apples although these are a bit more tart.
- If you work a lot with apples, you must add an apple peeler to your kitchen. It peels, cores, and spiralizes your apples (and potatoes) in one fell swoop.
Why You'll Love Making Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
- They are quick and easy: it's hard to believe that a dessert this complex, with such a variety of textures and flavors, can be made in less than an hour, but it's true!
- Prep in advance: make things even easier on yourself by preparing the crust, streusel topping, and caramel sauce in advance. Then store in the fridge until you're ready for the final assembly and baking.
- Feeding a crowd? Just double this recipe and you'll have plenty of decadent dessert bars to go around.
More Amazing Cheesecake Bar Recipes
Love these Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars as much as I do? Then you'll want to try my recipes for Scotcheroo Cheesecake Bars, Strawberry Cheesecake Bars, and these Lemon Cheesecake Bars.
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and finely sliced
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup salted butter
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil or parchment paper.
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To make the streusel topping, combine brown sugar, flour, oats, and salt. Work in the butter, mixing until coarse crumbs form. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
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To make the apples, toss together the chopped apples with 2 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, mix together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.
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Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.
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Press evenly into the prepared baking pan.
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Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
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In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with ½ cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth.
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Add the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla; stir until smooth.
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Pour cheesecake filling over the warm crust.
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Top the cheesecake filling with the chopped apples then sprinkle with the streusel topping.
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Bake for 30 minutes, or until filling is set.
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To make the caramel drizzle, In a small pot over medium heat, bring brown sugar, butter, and cream to a gentle boil and cook until thickened, 2-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add vanilla extract.
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Once bars have baked and cooled, slice into bars. Right before serving, drizzle with caramel sauce.
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