Description
These Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are a delightful fusion of creamy cheesecake, spiced apples, and a buttery graham cracker crust, all topped with a rich caramel sauce.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 16 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 medium Granny Smith apples peeled and diced
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter cold and cubed
- ¼ cup chopped pecans optional
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- In a large bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, granulated sugar, and cinnamon until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish to form the crust.
- In a separate bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
- In another bowl, toss the diced apples with lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spread the apple mixture evenly over the cheesecake layer.
- In a bowl for the streusel, mix the flour, brown sugar, and cold butter until crumbly. Stir in the chopped pecans if using. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheesecake is set and the topping is golden brown.
- For the caramel sauce, combine granulated sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and bring to a simmer. Do not stir, let it cook until it turns a golden amber color. Remove from heat and carefully stir in heavy cream, butter, and salt until smooth.
- Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting them into squares and drizzling with warm caramel sauce before serving.
Notes
You can prepare the caramel sauce ahead of time and heat it up before serving. Substitute with walnuts if you prefer instead of pecans.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 395 kcal
- Sugar: 31 g
- Sodium: 180 mg
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated Fat: 14 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 42 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 82 mg
Keywords: Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars,Dessert,Cheesecake,Apple Dessert,Caramel