Healthy Apple Pie Bars with Salted Peanut Butter Caramel
Healthy apple pie bars with a delicious oat crumble topping and a drizzle of homemade salted peanut butter caramel. These gluten free apple pie bars are filled with warm, cozy spices and easily made vegan for the perfect fall dessert!
Servings 16 bars
Calories 192cal
Ingredients
- For the crust and crumble:
- 1 ½ cups gluten free oat flour (or sub all purpose flour)
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, gluten free if desired
- ½ cup packed brown sugar (or sub coconut sugar but you may not get the best 'crumble')
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons butter (or vegan buttery stick such as Earth Balance), melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the filling:
- 1/2 tablespoon melted butter (or vegan buttery stick)
- 3 medium to large honeycrisp apples, peeled and cut into 1/4th inch slices (about 4 1/2 cups apple slices)
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch or arrowroot starch
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of allspice & nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- For the peanut butter caramel:
- 2 tablespoons creamy all natural peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper and generously spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Make the base + topping: In a large bowl, use a fork to mix together the oat flour, oats, coconut sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add in melted butter and vanilla extract stir until a nice crumble forms and dough begins to clump together.
- Place about 1 2/3 cups of the mixture into the prepared pan and place the remaining mixture into the fridge (the remaining mixture will be used for the topping). Use your hands to evenly press the dough to the bottom of the pan.
- To make the apple pie filling: Melt butter in a large skillet or pot over medium heat. Add the sliced apples to the pan and stir to coat the apples. Add in maple syrup, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg over the apples and stir well to combine. Lower heat to medium low and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until apples begin to soften nicely. Next stir in vanilla and cornstarch, and cook over low heat for 3-5 minutes so that the sauce thickens up. Remove from heat. Pour mixture over the crust and use a spoon to evenly spread.
- Take the remaining topping out of the fridge. By now there should be some nice crumbles that have clumped together. Sprinkle the topping over the apple filling
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the topping is nice and golden. Allow bars to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
- Next make your peanut butter caramel: in a large bowl add peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla and salt. Stir well to combine. Microwave for 20-30 seconds or until warm. Caramel should appear runny but will thicken up upon sitting at room temperature for 5-10 minutes.
- Drizzle caramel over bars, then use a sharp knife to cut into 16 squares. Bars are delicious served at room temperature or straight out of the fridge! Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, too!
Notes
To store these apple pie bars: the bars are delicious served at room temperature or straight out of the fridge. I recommend storing in the fridge for optimal freshness. Feel free to reheat in the microwave if you love a warm apple dessert.
See the full post for tips, tricks & easy ways to customize these bars!
Nutrition
Serving: 1bar | Calories: 192cal | Carbohydrates: 29.7g | Protein: 2.4g | Fat: 8.7g | Saturated Fat: 4.3g | Fiber: 2.3g | Sugar: 13.9g