Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are creamy, sweet and delicious. They’re a simple, buttery crust with an easy apple cheesecake filling topped with an oat streusel and caramel. One of my favorite fall desserts!
Why You’ll Love These Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
- Easy To Make! These look way more complicated than they actually are, which is the best kind of recipe to make when you’re trying to impress! Bars are more forgiving way to make cheesecake and less intimidating!
- Caramels and Apple paired with cheesecake is a match made in heaven. Perfect for a fall time gathering, or anytime of year.
- Cheesecake bars are a great recipe to make for entertaining because they feed a crowd and are grab and go!
- The tartness of the apples paired with the creamy cheesecake, sweet caramel, and crunchy streusel topping is a taste and texture
Apple Cheesecake Bars Ingredients:
These bars have 3 layers: the crust, the filling and the streusel topping. The full ingredient list is at the bottom of this post in the recipe card, so make sure to scroll down and print that out! Here’s a short list of what you’ll need:
- For the Crust: all purpose flour, light brown sugar, and butter
- For the Filling: Cream cheese at room temperature, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, a large egg, apples, and ground cinnamon
- For the Topping: Light brown sugar, all purpose flour, old fashioned oats (rolled oats), butter, and caramel sauce.
Instructions
The crust comes together easily by combining the flour, brown sugar, and butter together with a pastry cutter. It’s essentially a shortbread crust, which is very simple! Press that into a parchment paper lined 9×9 pan and bake it in a 350°F oven until it’s lightly golden brown.
While the crust is baking make the filling! Mix the cream cheese, vanilla, egg, and some of the granulated sugar together. You can use an electric hand mixer, or your stand mixer. Set that aside. Then stir together the diced apples, remaining sugar, and cinnamon together until the apples are coated.
When the crust is done baking spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the crust and then top it with the apple mixture.
Make the streusel topping by combining the sugar, flour, oats, and butter until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle this on top of the apples and bake! When it’s done drizzle caramel all over the top!
What Kind Of Apples Should I Use For Apple Cheesecake?
I like to use Granny Smith apples most often when baking. They hold their structure and their tartness pairs well with the sweetness of the dessert for a balanced dessert.
How To Store Cheesecake Bars
These need to be refrigerated in an airtight container and will be good for up to 5 days. You can also freeze these bars stored airtight for up to 30 days for best freshness!
Love Cheesecake Bars? Here Are Some Other Recipes You Might Like:
- Golden Oreo Cheesecake Bars
- Sugar Cookie Cheesecake Bars
- Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
- Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 25 bars 1x
- Category: Cheesecake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are the perfect fall dessert recipe. Easy to make, and definitely a crowd pleaser!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
Filling
- 1 (8- ounce) block cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon, divided
- 1 large egg
- 2 small Granny Smith apple, peeled and small diced
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon
Streusel Topping
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup caramel sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Crust: In a medium sized bowl combine crust ingredients, flour, brown sugar and butter with a pastry cutter, or fork until they make a coarse crumb.
- Press the mixture firmly in the bottom of the pan and bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned.
- Filling: in a mixing bow, combine cream cheese, vanilla, egg and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Beat until combined and smooth. Set aside.
- Dice apples and sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp sugar and 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice. Stir until coated evenly. Set aside.
- Streusel: Combining the light brown sugar, flour, oats and butter and stir with your pastry cutter or fork until evenly mixed. Set aside.
- Assemble: When crust is done baking, spread the cream cheese mixture on top of warm crust, top with diced apples and finally with streusel.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until center is set.
- When done drizzle caramel sauce all over the top.
- Let the pan cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes and then place in refrigerator to chill for approximately 2 hours, or overnight.
- Cut into squares when ready to serve.
Notes
Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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I noticed that someone else substituted Fuji apples in this recipe, I have some beautiful Braeburn apples laying around that I’m gonna try, I’ll report back!! 🙂
Could these bars be frozen?? I do a ton of baking each month for our church bake sale, and I try todo as much ahead as I can. I would love it if all recipes came with a note stating if they could be frozen. This one sounds so delicious and it will be first on my list for this month!!!
in this recipe do you use unsalted butter or salted butter I have unsalted butter is that okay
I happened to use salted, because that’s pretty much what I always use…but unsalted will be FINE!! You might need to adjust the amount of salt you add, adding 1/4 tsp-1/2 tsp more…but just do it to your own taste!
Thank you so much for your quick response!! This is on my to do list for today!!!God Bless!!
also can I use a 8×8 pan I don’t have a 9×9 pan?
YOu can, but you will need to adjust the bake time as the bars will be thicker
can I use Macintosh apples that is all I have right now?
Sure, it will be fine! I like the tarter, firmer texture of the Granny Smith, but in a pinch The McI will be fine!
These look great, and I’ve been waiting over a week to make them. However, for some reason, when I went to bake them today, the recipe had disappeared. Is there an issue with the site or is it me?
Should be working now!
I was had a glitch with my recipe service earlier, sorry for the inconvenience! should be working!
I made these bars in the Fall and they were excellent!!! I made them yesterday and instead of the diced apples in sugar and pumpkin pie spice, I took a can of cherry pie filling cut the cherries in 1/2 and stirred in 1/2tsp. of almond extract. I spread it on top of the cheesecake layer and then finished with the streusel. I did not use the caramel sauce. They were outstanding also! Thanks!
Hi Shelly! I just wanted to post a quick note about these bars. They are delicious! I can’t keep out of the pan of them! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Wonderful !! 5 stars (on a 4 star rating system)