Salted Caramel Apple Butter Bars
I’m not going to lie- this recipe is a little more tedious than your basic bar recipe… but it is completely worth it. Give me a bowl of that homemade salted caramel apple butter and I’m set.
With the abundance of apples I had this fall, I knew I had to bust out all the baking recipes. I started with homemade apple butter, but of course feel free to use store-bought (it’s much more convenient), which then elevated in to a salted caramel. Even if you decide not to make this entire recipe, the salted caramel apple butter is the star of the show. It could easily be made on its own.. maybe even eaten with a spoon… but since that’s probably frowned upon keep it on hand for dipping apples!
I love that this recipe is only sweetened with maple syrup, is completely gluten-free, nut-free, AND dairy-free. It’s a healthier- totally addicting treat for my sweet tooth…. but that’s not stopping me from topping it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Name a better combination than that.
Salted Caramel Apple Butter Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup oat flour (process oats in food processor until flour consistency)
- 3/4 cup oats
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp maple syrup
Filling
- 1/2 honeycrisp or fuji apple sliced
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- splash of vanilla
Salted Caramel Apple Butter
- 1/2 cup coconut milk full fat
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup apple butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Glaze (optional)
- 2 tbsp coconut milk
- 2 tbsp apple butter
Instructions
Make the Salted Caramel Apple Butter
- In a small saucepan combine the coconut milk, coconut sugar, apple butter, vanilla, and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cook on low, stirring occasionally until thickened, about 15 minutes.
Make the Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a square baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a food processor, combine the oat flour, oats, coconut oil, and maple syrup. Pulse until a crust forms.
- Place about 1/3 of the dough in a bowl and set aside. Press the remaining 2/3 dough in an even layer across the baking dish.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Set aside.
Make the Filling
- In a medium size bowl, toss the apple slices, maple syrup, coconut flour, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Assemble the Bars
- Spread the salted caramel apple butter all over the par-baked crust.
- Layer on the apple filling slightly overlapping the apples in an even layer.
- Using your hands (or food processor) crumble the remaining 1/3 dough in to small pieces.
- Top the filling with crumble.
- Bake in the oven for 15-25 minutes until golden brown.
Glaze (optional)
- Combine 2 tablespoons apple butter and 2 tablespoons coconut milk in a bowl. Drizzle over the hot bars.
- Let cool and cut in to 8-10 squares.
COMMENT BELOW