Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars start with a shortbread crust, a thick cheesecake layer, and are topped with diced cinnamon apples and a sweet streusel topping. These are a tried and true cheesecake bar dessert recipe.
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CARAMEL APPLE CHEESECAKE BARS
WHAT ARE IN THESE BARS?
These have a flaky shortbread crust, a simple cheesecake filling, and has cinnamon apples and a brown sugar streusel on top. Drizzle caramel sauce on top when serving. I like Mrs. Richardson’s caramel or any other brand that’s on the thicker side.
WHAT KIND OF APPLES SHOULD I USE?
I use Granny Smith green apples because they are a little more tart and the recipe is on the sweet side so it balances out. You can really use any apple you have on hand.
Add some cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg to the apples.
The cheesecake layer goes on top of the shortbread crust.
Add the seasoned apples on top!
The crumble on top is pretty simple with some flour, brown sugar, oats, and butter.
Seems thick but melts down.
You know it’s done when it’s nice and golden brown.
You can add the caramel on top right before serving or before you chill them. This recipe is always requested any time I bring it anywhere.
HOW DO I STORE THESE?
After you have baked the bars let them cool to room temperature then store in the fridge up to 5 days. Some people like to eat these warm as well.
CAN I FREEZE THESE CARAMEL APPLE CHEESECAKE BARS?
Absolutely. You can freeze these caramel apple cheesecake bars up to four months. Just like most cheesecakes, this recipe freezes well. Just make sure to save the caramel topping for when serving.
OTHER APPLE RECIPES:
- Salted Caramel Apple Cups
- Apple Pie Caramel Apple
- Apple Pudding Cake
- Caramel Apple Cookie Pizza
- Apple Crisp Pizza
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake
- Apple Crisp Cheese Danish
- Appledoodles
- Apple Salad
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened
Cheesecake Filling:
- 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Apples:
- 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped, (about 3 cups)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Streusel Topping:
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
Drizzle:
- 1/2 cup caramel topping for drizzling after baked
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or food processor (or 2 forks) until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan that is greased or lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil or parchment. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.
- In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.
- For the streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. I like to really combine it by using my clean hands to thoroughly combine the butter into the mixture. You can't use a food processor because it will grind up the oats.
- Sprinkle Streusel topping over apples. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Let bars come to room temperature then store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Can be frozen up to 4 months.
- Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy!
Can I substitute the apples with canned cherry pie filling? Love the apple one!
Yes, absolutely!
I made this and it’s scrumptious making agai Today cause my adult gr son is visiting and will devour it by himself its delicious.
Thank you!
This is currently baking in my oven. I love to bake. It’s a great stress reliever. I did line with parchment paper. Didn’t want to take a chance because I know this type of crust can get very dense. How do you suggest I remove it? Should I put a spatula under the parchment paper and pull the whole thing out or cut slice by slice?
I usually cut slice by slice but you can do both
These cheesecake bars are so delicious! My family asked me to make them again for Thanksgiving this year so they are now in the oven. I find they set better with at least 24 hours in the refrigerator. There are so many steps as there are 4 layers – I’ve adapted the recipe for a cinnamon spiced graham cracker crust, and add another brick of cream cheese (and adjust the other ingredients)another egg, and so on. Makes for a thicker, denser cheesecake that feeds a larger family at holiday times. I highly recommend these!
Thanks Susan!
Can I do rolled oats instead of quick cooking?
Yes that will work fine!
This was absolutely delicious!! So many asking me for recipe
So happy to hear that!
Made these for my picky adult children when they came for dinner. They all loved them and even took leftovers with them.
Yes it’s a lot of steps but it comes together as an amazing dessert.
Just made it again for bunco night
Glad you liked it!
I couldn’t do prep time in 10 minutes. There are many steps even when everything was softened. It was delicious! My new take on apples is leave the skin on. It works with great flavor and fiber.
Love it!
Have you ever made these in a big jelly roll pan? Like a cookie sheet
I am in charge of a dessert for YW’s and need a big serving size? Would doubling the recipe be best?
This makes a very thick 9×13 so if you had a large jelly roll I would double it.
I have been making these for many years now, exactly as shown – a favorite for everyone
Thanks Rob!
Can you freeze these, before or after baking?
I would personally freeze after baking but you could do either.
For those of you wanting to make these in a cupcake tray instead; these make 24 cupcakes. The strudel topping you only need about 1/3 of to fit ontop. Baked them for 30 minutes at 350 and they came out perfect! Also, if you use silicone cupcake trays, they pop out beautifully without any grease on the cups!
can I use canned apple pie filling?
Yes it will just be a little more wet
Someone shared this recipe with me, and I’m going to try making these bars for the first for a recipe club. I apologize for all the questions. How many pieces do you typically get from this recipe? (I need to make 18-24.) When you line with parchment, do you grease the sides at all? If I use a larger pan to make the bars not as thick, how much more crust mixture do you recommend making? Thanks for your help. I can’t wait to try this.
The crust is thick so you wouldn’t need to adjust it for a bigger pan. I get 24 squares from a pan.
Can you use cosmic apples instead of granny smith
Sure!
This recipe is amazing! I’m wondering if you have any thoughts about using a bigger pan? They turned out a bit thick and I wanted more of bar. Thanks for advice.
You could totally use a bigger pan. Yes they are thick
This may be the BEST thing I have ever baked. It is sooooo good. Normally I am a huge sweet tooth, but these are so rich and sweet I can barely eat more than one (probably a good thing, lol).
My only question is, the crust on mine is very hard to cut. It tastes fantastic, but it’s so hard to get out of the pan! Do you think I pressed it in too much? Or maybe I didn’t mix it well enough and the butter solidified towards the bottom? Any pointers will help! I plan on bringing these to the next holiday party. 🙂
Did you line the pan with parchment? THat helps the crust slide out
I have made this recipe several times and is ALWAYS a hit! I make homemade caramel to drizzle on the top to make that much more tasty!
Aww thank you!
Best cheesecake I’ve ever had!
Thank you!
Is the butter supposed to be salted? Can’t wait to make this.
You can use either. It’s a sweet dish so salted would be great.
I’m looking to make these for a Friendsgiving this weekend! Do the apples need to be sautéed first?? I’m just worried about them coming out hard if I don’t.
Nope they don’t. They’ll cook!
Can you make the crust/cheesecake a day ahead?
Yes! You can make the whole thing a day ahead
What step would we stop at if we wanted to make this ahead of time?
I would make up until the before the caramel drizzle. It can chill in the fridge for days
I’d make this again in a heart beat! I made this tonight for my cosmetology school’s Fall party tomorrow and my husband and I snuck some of it after it had cooled off and omg! DELICIOUS!! The girls have been very excited for me to make this and they are in for a TREAT!! All I did different was add 1/4 cup more sugar to my cheesecake mixture and not quite as much butter as called for!
So glad you liked it!
Everyone in our Sat. night get together liked this. My only issue is that the soften butter did not cut into the flour and it didn’t come out like I thought it should. The next time I will use my crust that I use for another dessert and see if that makes a difference. All in all a really good dessert. Thanks for sharing.
Sorry Gail. It does take some patience to cut it in
Made these for a weekend with friends….these were a HIT! Everyone couldn’t get over how good they were. People had seconds! Will be making again. Thank you
Thank you!
The recipe was easy and a lot of fun to make with my kids. It was really good but I did think the streusel topping was almost too much you almost couldn’t enjoy the cheesecake and apple part. We are going to try it again without it but all in all it was really good and a nice way to kick off fall and use our apples from apple picking.
These were delicious, but next time I think I’ll make my own homemade caramel to top it off. It did take more prep time than I thought it would, but the end result was worth the effort!
Thank you!
Won third place in our dessert contest with this recipe!
That. Is. Awesome!
This recipe did not disappoint! The best of flavors – apple pie and cheesecake with the bit of crunch from the top layer of struesel yum!
Thank you!
I made these for my daughter in a 9×13 pan sprayed with PAM. She is telling me that the crust is glued to the bottom and the bars are coming out in chunks. Is there any way to salvage this? It was my first time making them.
Sorry! I’m not sure what happened. In the future you can use parchment paper.
What size pan to use for the above measurements and timing?
If I double the recipe, what size pan and baking time?
Thanks!!
The directions list a 9×13 and have the cooking times!