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!!
WOW! I made these, they are delicious! The flavors of the caramel, apple and graham cracker crust complement each other wonderfully. I didn’t have molasses so I used barley malt syrup instead, which I had on hand from making bagels. It worked great!
Thanks for trying the recipe, Lily, and so glad it worked great for you. Barley malt syrup – I bet that’s a nice sub for the molasses. And you’re a bagel maker, I am impressed! I’ve only made these but I should make more!
I am drooling over here, get me a towel!!! I love cheesecake bars :) especially salted caramel apple, yum!
Oatmeal cookie pie crust–so that legend-of-a-dessert is really a thing? I love a good graham cracker crust under any circumstance, and both these bars’ crusts and the idea of an oatmeal cookie crust sound excellent right now. I do accept home deliveries…just saying :D lovely!
Wish I did do deliveries – would help me work through the piles of desserts I always have! LOL
It’s raining, it’s cold, the falling leaves are pale yellow and russet red – all that’s missing is a batch of these cosy autumnal bars. Beautiful. xo
Oh that weather sounds like weather I am glad I’m not in right now (sorry!) Rainy, cold, the fall – not where I thrive. I would need to make lots of these bars :)
You know me and my obsession with salted caramel…these bars totally have my name all over them! I love every single thing that you added. They sound glorious and I’m wishing I had one (ok, three) in front of me for breakfast :-) Pinned!
I would trade you these bars any day for your Neo Fudge. I loveeeeee that stuff. Still need to make it. And thanks for the pin!
When I saw the picture of this, I literally said “oh my god.” I need to make these so bad, it is a few of my favorite flavors…and the best part, they are combined! I am putting this recipe to use very soon!
Well that’s great that you plan to make them! Keep me posted!
Oh goodness, I want one of these so badly! They look so soft and creamy! You really can’t go wrong with caramel and apple. Or cheesecake! :)
Salted caramel is the way to my heart- and I think I need these in my mouth right. this. second.
Holy moly! These look incredible Averie!
I think I just about died and went to heaven. I love everything about these bars! Especially the salted caramel. No wait, the cheesecake. No, the apples. And the buttery graham cracker crust. There is way too much to choose from. Apple desserts are my very favorite, but I think you knew that. Wait a sec, did you bake these just for me? I have been wanting to make a caramel apple cheesecake ever since last year, just haven’t had the opportunity to make an actual cheesecake! These are much more approachable. :)
So much more approachable than an actual cheesecake. Someone may actually make these whereas with a full cheesecake, doubtful. I thought of you the WHOLE TIME I was making these. The apple, the cheesecake bars, the salted caramel, the graham crust – yes, I made them just for you :) LOL I wish I could have shipped some to you!
Do you know what I would do to live next to you so I could sample everything you make? Totally drooling here!
I wish you did! I seriously donate SO MUCH food, Deborah! You have more kids than I do and could use it! I..cannot. Or we’d weigh 500 lbs :)
These bars look absolutely fantastic. The crust alone could be crumbled into a bowl for people to dig into with a spoon. I love how wintery this dessert is, too, the apples, caramel, cheesecake…YUM. The great part about this, besides all the other stuff I already said, is how simple it is. Scrolling through the related recipes just to get to the comment section were all droolworthy, too! Gorgeous photos and delectable, Averie. Can’t WAIT to make these!
Glad you like all the related recipes. Sometimes I feel like there’s a few too many but whatever – it’s fun for me to go back and see what I’ve made. I may as well get something out of this too LOL
And yes the crust alone – it’s almost like a crunchy granola bar meets oatmeal cookie, minus the oats. Just so good and I dont even care for crunchy (dry) things or crust but I dig that!
i think my key phrase every time i come to your blog is going to be- I don’t believe it. Why you ask because I don’t believe how creative you are with desserts. This looks fantastic
What a sweet thing to say – I try :) I mean you have to start getting creative to post new recipes 4-5x a week, every week, for years, right!
These look like a great fall treat!
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I was told about your blog and “Cooking With Mr. C.” on Facebook. I love your recipes. Denise
Apple treats are my favorite in the fall. These look incredible!!