Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars — These bars are full of the flavors of fall! The soft yet dense apple cheesecake layer tops a crisp, brown sugar-graham cracker crust, while gooey, salted caramel drenches the top. Yum!!
Easy Apple Cream Cheese Dessert
Caramel, apples, and the fall are made for each other. And while these apple cheesecake bars bake, your house will smell like a fall-scented bakery. No candles required.
Usually layered bars, or actual cheesecakes, mean lots of dishes and work, but these caramel apple cheesecake bars are fast, easy, made in one bowl, and a mixer is optional. They provide all the glory of real cheesecake, minus the work or water bath.
The buttery, brown sugar-graham cracker crust is good enough to eat on it’s own and I never say that about crust.
Normally it’s soft and gooey desserts that make me swoon, but this crust is so good that I adapted my Salted Caramel Swirled-Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, just so I could have this crust again.
While baking, the bars rise up fairly considerably in the pan, more than you’d think they would if you’re an oven-door watcher. They shrink back down as they cool.
The crust is crunchy, buttery, with plenty of snap. If you’ve ever had an oatmeal-cookie-crusted pie, that’s what it reminds me of, with graham cracker crumbs in place of the oats.
The cheesecake layer is thick, dense, soft, yet firm, with warm, comforting flavors. Biting into the apple pieces, which retain some texture while baking, is a great contrast to the soft, smooth cream cheese.
Upon cooling and prior to serving, I drizzled on extra caramel sauce.
The more, the merrier.
What’s in the Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars?
To make this caramel apple dessert, you’ll need:
- Egg
- Cream cheese
- Granulated sugar
- Molasses
- Vanilla extract
- Spices
- Cornstarch
- Apples
- Salted caramel sauce
How to Make Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Make the apple cream cheese bars by melting butter, and stirring in brown sugar and graham cracker crumbs. While it bakes, the butter and brown sugar caramelize and you’re left with caramel undertones, which play off the salted caramel sauce used on the top layer.
The cheesecake layer is a mixture of cream cheese, cinnamon and sugar, molasses, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, molasses with apples folded in.
One tablespoon of molasses really rounds out the flavor profile and adds depth you just can’t get without it. It’s one of the quintessential flavors of fall for me.
Before baking, I swirled salted caramel sauce over the top layer. You can either make your own or use store-bought.
I’m a big fan of TJ’s Fleur de Sel sauce, but use your favorite thick caramel sauce. Don’t use ice cream sundae topping, with corn syrup being one of the first ingredients. It’s too thin and will get lost in the bars. Thicker is the only way to go.
This apple cream cheese dessert needs to be baked for about 45 minutes. Then, they need to cool to room temperature before being chilled.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Yes, you may double the recipe and bake the bars in a 9×13-inch dish.
How to Store Apple Cheesecake Bars
Since this is an apple cream cheese dessert, it must be stored in the fridge. I recommend wrapping the bars in foil to prevent them from drying out.
They’ll keep up to 5 days in the fridge and can also be frozen.
Tips for Making Apple Cheesecake Bars
I used one medium diced, unpeeled Fuji apple. Use your favorite type of apple, peeled or unpeeled.
If you’re trying to save calories and fat where you can, you can use light cream cheese. Often in baking you cannot use light products because the item won’t turn out or set up, but I’ve tested it here and it’s fine.
The spice level is on the robust side, but not overpowering, and starts off with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon.
In order to lend enough flavor to this dessert with the dense crust, thick layer of cream cheese, and apple (all are bland on their own) seasoning liberally is necessary or the dessert won’t pop and will taste bland. Of course, add spices to taste.
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Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
Cheesecake
- 1 large egg
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature and very soft (light is okay, micro for 10-15 seconds if you forgot to set it out to soften)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon molasses, light, mild, or medium molasses; not blackstrap
- 1 tablesoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup small diced apple pieces, I used 1 medium-large, unpeeled Fuji apple; use your favorite
- about 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce, divided (I use Trader Joe’s or make homemade salted caramel
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat over to 350F. Line an 8×8-inch pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
- Add all remaining crust ingredients and mix with a fork to combine.
- Turn loose crumbs out into prepared pan and using a spatula, pack mixture firmly into pan in an even, smooth, flat layer; set pan aside.
Cheesecake:
- In the same mixing bowl (no need to wash it), combine egg, cream cheese, sugar, molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and whisk until very smooth and combined, or beat with an electric mixer until smooth and satiny. The softer the cream cheese is, the easier the mixture comes together.
- Add the cornstarch and mix to just incorporate.
- Fold in the apples.
- Pour mixture over crust, smoothing lightly with spatula and dispersing apple pieces evenly.
- Drizzle about 1/4 cup caramel sauce over batter to create swirls. To create the marbled pattern shown, drizzle caramel over batter in 5 wide, evenly spaced, parallel lines, each spanning the length of the pan. Like 5 rows of long train tracks. Rotate pan 90-degrees. With a toothpick, starting at the top of the pan, “draw” 5 evenly spaced lines through the caramel. You’re dragging the toothpick perpendicularly through the first set of lines to create the marbling.
- Bake for about 45 to 48 minutes, or until center is set with very little jiggle; some looseness and a very slight jiggle is okay, but there should not be sloshing in the center. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Allow bars to cool in pan for about 1 hour before lifting out with foil overhang and slicing. I prefer to serve these bars chilled. Cover pan with foil to prevent fridge smells, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight, or until chilled before slicing and serving.
- Before slicing, drizzle about 1/4 cup caramel sauce over top; or add extra caramel to each piece individually prior to serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Caramel Apple Desserts:
Baked Caramel Apple Fritters — Love the taste of apple fritters but don’t want the calories or hassle that comes with frying them? Then these FAST and EASY baked apple fritters made with just four main ingredients are PERFECT!!
Caramel Apple Blondies — Super soft, moist, chewy and all the flavor of caramel apples minus the stick! You’re going to love these apple blondies!
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Crumble Bars — These caramel apple cheesecake bars feature a buttery crust that’s topped with cheesecake and spiced apples. After they’re done baking, the bars are drizzled with salted caramel sauce!
Caramel Apple Crumble Pie — Apple pie meets apple crumble in this easy caramel apple crumble pie recipe. This apple pie is dense, rich, and is packed with caramel apple flavor!
Caramel Apple Crumble Foil Packs – EASY, zero cleanup, made on the grill (or oven) in record time, and tastes amazing!! Juicy apples, chewy crumble topping, and luscious salted caramel…SO irresistible!!
Cinnamon Roll Apple Bake — A layer of cinnamon rolls topped with apples and a crunchy oatmeal crumble makes this the ULTIMATE apple crisp!! EASY, ready in 40 minutes, and tastes AMAZING!!
Baked Apple Fries — Breaded and baked with oats, cinnamon, and sugar and dipped in caramel! Totally beats regular French fries!!
I don’t think you can go wrong with these flavors. A good friend made an amazing caramel apple cheesecake. I never thought I’d like apple with cheesecake, but so good – or maybe it’s the ooey gooey caramel!
The spices, the molasses, the crust?!? AWESOME. Now….to cover up that apple taste. I wish I loved apples, since they are everywhere right now, but they just don’t love me, is the problem. Now, caramel on the other hand? Yes.
The least noticeable flavor in this whole thing is…the apples :) With all those other dominating flavors, not really surprising that it’s the only healthy thing that gets masked. LOL
How did I not know you don’t like apples??! I went through a phase of life where I ate them almost every day. I’ve moved on rarely eat them anymore (I should though!) but Skylar loves them and we always have tons on hand.
I have caramel apples up today! Ha! I guess we both have caramel, apples and fall on the mind! I am loving these bars and that is coming from a cheesecake is just ok person. All the salted caramel and apples have me sold! That graham cracker crust is amazing and these are a heck of a lot easier to eat that a caramel apple and that I LOVE!
I was the first comment or one of the first on your post :) I saw your post hit my feed as I was sitting here editing these pics. I was like, great minds…
And I am not a cheesecake person either. Like a big slice, no. I would much rather have cookies, cake, brownies that cheesecake. But people seem to love it :) And with this crust and the caramel and the fact that it’s less ‘cheesey’ than many cheesecakes if that makes sense, it worked for me.
I’m obsessed with caramel apple anything right now. I’ve made sheet cake and pie and a bundt cake is on the menu. These bars look wonderful. So fall like!
All your goodies sound great!
Salted caramel, apples and cheesecake… oh my!!! how did you squish all of my favorite things into one yummy bar. AWESOME!
Baked goodies with swirls get me every time. But caramel swirls?! Oh man. Beautiful bars for the fall season! :)
Love caramel and apple together! When I went to the fair as a little girl, I’d get the caramel apple instead of the candy apple. WAY better! :) Cannot wait to try this recipe, Averie!
I love how you snuck in the cheesecake idea ~ lovely bars. Pinned!
thanks for pinning my friend!
These look awesome. As soon as my lemon brownies, garbanzo chocolate chip cookie bars and oatmeal cookies are gone I’m making these! This weekend! I can’t stop baking. Thanks always Averie!
You sound like me! Can’t stop baking and creating! LMK what you think of these after you try them!
Hello, gorgeous little cheesecake bars!
Oh my goodness, these look like the perfect fall recipe!
Yes to this bar dessert. The cookie oat meal base is definitly a game changer in the world of desserts, I actually prefer to use them rather than traditional white base for the flavour.
Wonderfully pictured bars averie!
Thanks for the photo compliments, Belinda. Means a lot coming from you b/c your photography is always just stunning!
These look divine! I love bars or cookies that satisfy a couple of cravings at a time and a square pan is just so much easier (I’ve never had a disaster with a springform, but they make me nervous). I had decided on those fluffernutter bars for this weekend…and I have a feeling I’ll be wanting to make everything you post this week. So many desserts and treats–so little time!!!
LMK how the fluffernutter bars go over! And you will need to get over any springform pan anxiety because I have a doosie (in the best way) of a springform pan recipe coming next week. Not sure which day I’ll post it. Probably Tuesday. Unreal :)
Fabulous idea to spice cheesecake batter then stir in chopped apples and top with salted caramel. So much easier to serve than fancier cheesecakes and just as fun! Thanks for sharing, Averie. Pinning! P.S. Your Pinterest page was down the other night and I nearly freaked, LOL!
4 hour temporary glitch and yes, highly annoying, but back up and it was late on a Sunday evening so probably not a lot of people noticed but still, tech stuff is frustrating! thanks for pinning! :)
I swear caramel apples are my favourite even though we can’t get them here in the UK. But I love these little bars with cheesecake. YUM
Those look so good! Great way to enjoy some apples!