Tender shortbread filled with rich cinnamon apples and topped with a cinnamon crumble then drizzled with fresh caramel sauce. These bars are simple to make and don’t fall apart—making them the perfect, sharable alternative to traditional apple pie!

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Today would have been my big brother’s 41st birthday. Instead, he’s been gone just over two years. In honor of him, I’m sharing my favorite apple recipe from this year: caramel apple pie bars. He never cared for cake (but he did like my confetti cake). Instead, he loved apple pie or anything with apples in it.

Happy birthday, Jon.

Why this recipe works

The shortbread is one of my favorite things to make. It’s easy and foolproof. Always tender and flakey. The apple filling is equally simple—just slice and toss some apples! I like to do this before starting the crust or crumble, so that the juices can release and create this gooey apple pie texture. (And luckily, the bar-nature of this dessert as well as the use of some flour in the filling means the gooey apples do not mean they will ooze out and fall apart.) And that crumble topping. Most recipes are roughly similar, but I like to use all brown sugar and extra cinnamon. Together, it creates this perfectly warm, crunchy-crumbly topping. It’s what I use on my French apple pie. (Fun fact: technically, it’s French if it has no oats and Dutch if it does have oats. Or so I’ve read—I’m not a culinary expert.)

Finally, the crowning glory: the caramel sauce. While I always prefer making my own, you can use store bought. I just love how rich and easy homemade caramel is. Seriously! Just use a wide pan so the sugar can dissolve evenly. You’ll end up with the most delicious taste and texture, and it keeps in the fridge for weeks! Which means you can make it ahead and make life so much easier the day of your event. Plus, it is perfection on these bars because it is thick enough to stick to them and not soak in or ooze off the edge.

Key ingredients

Caramel sauce. I like to use homemade, as it’s richer and a bit thicker. Plus, it’s really easy!

Apples. Your favorite baking apple will do, although a bit of tartness is ideal. I used pink lady, which are my favorite sweet-yet-tart apples that I can always find at the store. If it’s fall, I tend to use up my Jonagold apples, which we get when we go apple picking.

Cinnamon. A must! I use this in the crumb, apples, and glaze, but you could absolutely add some to the cake itself! Start with just 1 teaspoon so the cake isn’t overwhelmed with it.

Brown sugar. Using just brown sugar in the crumb gives it that lovely crunch and almost caramelized flavor.

Flour. Optionally, you can sift this for the crust, making it even more tender and delicate.

Butter. Always use European style butter in shortbread. It’s creamier and has less water.

Confectioner’s sugar. This is the secret to the tender texture and perfect sweetness of these cookies.

Vanilla. Use pure vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste).

Salt. Only use a pinch or so if using salted butter.

How to make caramel apple pie bars

Make the caramel sauce

1. If making homemade caramel, make ahead. This can be refrigerated for up to a month. Just reheat in the microwave at half power in 30 second increments or place in a hot water bath (don’t submerge the lid).

Make the apple filling

2. Peel, core, and slice apples. You want them decently thin, around 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Don’t worry if some of the peel is left on.

3. Toss in filling ingredients. Doing this now allows the apple’s juices to release and begin creating a gooey filling.

Make the shortbread

4. Cream butter and powdered sugar. You don’t need to beat it for a long time, just make sure it’s well-combined and perfectly smooth.

5. Add vanilla and salt. Reduce salt to a pinch if you used salted butter. Be sure it’s very smooth so that the flour can be mixed in minimally.

6. Stir in flour. Technically, you could sift and whisk the salt and flour, but that requires an extra bowl, and I just don’t have the patience for more dishes. So, I add the salt to the butter most of the time.

7. Press into pan and par-bake. You want to bake the shortbread for about 10 minutes, until it’s matte in appearance. Once you start to see even a hint of golden brown, it’s definitely done. You don’t want to over bake the base, as it’ll bake more with the filling.

Make the crumble topping (I like to do this while the crust bakes, but you can do it afterward while it cools slightly.)

8. Whisk flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Break up any big chunks of brown sugar.

9. Stir in melted butter. Don’t let it turn into a paste, but be sure all the flour’s mixed in and large crumbs are created.

Assemble and bake

10. Layer apples flatly. You want them laying down so you can pack as many as possible in and so it stays sturdy once cooled.

11. Cover with crumble. I like to press it down gently and fill all the space I can so there’s plenty of crumble.

12. Bake until filling bubbles. This is usually the tell for a fruit pie (or pie bars)—the filling will bubble. If the topping is getting too dark before you can see the filling bubble, loosely tent with foil.

13. Let cool completely then top with caramel. It needs to cool a bit so it doesn’t fall apart. You can also let it cool completely then refrigerate it for a few days before serving. Just don’t add the caramel until close to serving.

Enjoy!

Tips and FAQ’s for this recipe

What kind of apples should I use?

Any kind will do. Jonagold and Pink Lady are probably my favorites for baking, but they’re not always available at a lot of stores (I usually only find Jonagold/Jonathan apples when we go apple picking). Using a combination of tart and sweet apples is ideal, like Granny Smith and Gala or Honeycrisp. I just don’t recommend Fuji for baking—they turn mushy pretty quickly.

How do I know it’s baked through?

The rule of thumb with any fruit pie (or pie bars) is to look for the filling to bubble. Even if you top these with a thick layer of crumble, you’ll still see some bubbling along the edges to tell you they’re done. If the topping is looking dark before the apple filling bubbles, loosely place a piece of foil over them to keep it from burning.

Do I have to use European butter?

Personally, I think it makes a huge difference. It’s creamier and has a very different consistency than sweet cream butter. Since you only have a few ingredients here, you want to make sure each one is of the highest quality. But don’t worry—you can often find it at places like Costco on sale!

Spoon then level your flour

Don’t scoop your flour! I never knew this until I started blogging, but it seriously makes a big difference. You will end up with roughly 25% more flour than the recipe called for if you just doonk (official baking term right there) your measuring spoon into the flour container and scoop. Gently spoon your flour into your measuring cup then level it off with the back of a knife. Trust me! It makes a difference.

Do NOT over mix!

The crust will become tough and lose its flaky tenderness if you mix it too much. Be careful to stir just until the dough comes together then stop. If you find any unmixed flour, you can pat that into the rest of the dough when you roll it out. The same goes for the crumble, as you want to have some bigger chunks that will bake together nicely and give some texture, so don’t stir until it’s sandy.

Can I make these ahead of time?

Yes! The caramel can be made up to a month in advance. Baked bars (not topped with caramel yet) can be refrigerated 3-5 days and will still taste just as delicious. Just pop in the oven at 350F/175C for about 10-15 minutes then top with caramel before serving. If you need to make them further in advance, you can make the shortbread dough and crumble topping and refrigerate both (well sealed) for up to three days. This means all you have to do to have freshly baked apple pie bars is slice the apples and assemble everything. Both are good options, and it really depends on how busy you’ll be.

My tools

Here are my must-have tools I use for making these bars. Affiliate links provided.

Mesh sieve (because sifting is KEY for a perfect shortbread)

Stand mixer or handheld mixer

Vegetable peeler

Apple slicer and corer

Apple peeler, corer, and slicer

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Foolproof French Apple Pie

Caramel Apple Crumble Tart

Appledoodle Bars

Apple Streusel Loaf

Apple Crumb Cake