Full of crunchy pecans, chewy apples, and a caramel ribbon, these Caramel Apple Pie Snack Bars are the next best thing to an apple pie without the fuss of the crust.
In our house, we keep snack bars around on the constant. I’ll pack them in Warren’s lunch bag as a snack, we’ll take them on hikes, and I even have them for breakfast when my mornings are full of errands.
I haven’t shared snack bars in a while, so I figured it’s about dang time. And, what better flavor for this Fall season than Caramel Apple Pie Snack Bars!
I tried to make these Caramel Apple Pie Snack Bars resemble one of my favorite apple pie recipes (maybe I’ll share it one day!), which has a pecan crumble topping and a drizzle of caramel. So, these Caramel Apple Pie Snack Bars ended up with plenty of crunchy pecans and a creamy and chewy caramel ribbon on top!
To get the epitomic apple pie flavor, I used plenty of cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and chopped dried apples. The dried apples added a really nice chew and made a great substitute for fresh apples. There’s plenty of other goodies in there too, but I just named the ones that I think really give these Caramel Apple Pie Snack Bars the apple pie punch! Know what I mean?
One of the best things about these Caramel Apple Pie Snack Bars is that unlike my other snack bars, these actually taste and hold together better when not stored in the refrigerator. Yay for not taking up any refrigerator space!
To hold you until pie baking season, these Caramel Apple Pie Snack Bars are the next best thing to an apple pie without the fuss of the crust :) Enjoy!
Caramel Apple Pie Snack Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup almond meal plus ⅛ cup for sprinkling
- 1 cup dried oats, toasted**
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
- 1 cup dried apples, diced into ½ - inch pieces
- 10 caramels
- 2 teaspoons cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and line a 8-inch baking dish with a sling made from parchment paper*. Spread ⅛ cup of almond meal evenly over the sling.
- Grind the oats in a food processor or blender until mostly fine. Pour into a large bowl and add the remaining ¾ cup almond meal, along with the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, molasses, and vanilla extract and pour over the oat mixture. Stir to combine. Add the pecans and apples and stir until well combined.
- Transfer into the prepared baking dish and tightly pack the mixture down in the baking dish with slightly wet hands, creating an even surface.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the baking dish on a cooling rack for 1 hour.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, add the caramels and cream. Stir constantly until melted and a pourable consistency.
- Drizzle over the cooled slab and let cool for another 1 hour.
- Gently use the sling to remove from the dish and cut evenly into 8 bars.
Notes
Storage
Store at room temperature for up to 7 days. Separate each layer using a sheet of parchment paper.
