Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping
The perfect marriage of cheesecake + caramel apples, these caramel apple cheesecake bars with that buttery, delightful streusel topping are one of my favorite fall desserts!
Move over pumpkin, because today, apples are getting their rightful attention as favorite fall flavor, too!
I mean, obviously you can enjoy apples every day of the year if you want (same with pumpkin, if we’re going to have this conversation), but there’s something about fall that brings out the delicious, warm flavors of apples.
And there’s no better combination than apples + caramel. Am I right?
Throw a little shortbread, cheesecake and streusel in there and you are looking at one of my family’s favorite desserts EVER.
And ok, fine, I actually have never relegated these caramel apple cheesecake bars to just autumn time. They are an oft-requested and oft-made treat all through the year.
My brother, Nathan, sent me the recipe years and years ago after his coworkers basically told him he should never bring any other treat in to work besides these babies. (Sidenote: my brother is an incredible baker and makes the most delectable desserts.)
I soon saw for myself the popularity that follows these bars. As in, you may get mobbed for the recipe. Prepare yourself.
Every time I bring these to a church activity or book club or social gathering (that highlight reel makes me sound like I actually get dressed and leave my house on occasion, which is slightly misleading), they are wildly, wildly popular.
I mean, just look at them! I know looks aren’t everything, but you have to admit, they are stunning little bars. And the outside appearance is just the beginning. They are ridiculously delicious. Like, best thing I ever ate kind of delicious.
That buttery shortbread based topped with a luscious creamy cheesecake layer and then followed by the syrupy tender apples…it’s almost too much.
But wait! There’s more! We’re going to take it two steps further with a buttery golden streusel (streusel is life) and caramel sauce drizzled on top with wild abandon.
I know. Let me give you a minute.
If you are looking for a showstopper dessert this fall, these caramel apple cheesecake bars should be very high on the to-make list.
And I’m not the only one with undying love! I originally posted this recipe back in 2010, and it has continued to be a family favorite of ours and many of yours, too (check out the comments for reviews and feedback).
There is a lot going on in this recipe, there’s no doubt about that. But I promise the end result will be worth it.
All of the components come together quickly and simply. It’s just a matter of assembling them all together (and bribing someone else to wash the dishes).
And in the name of giving apples a chance to shine today, here are a couple of my other favorite apple recipes (that aren’t pie)!
Whole Grain Applesauce Cinnamon Quick Bread
Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls
Apple Dapple Cake with Warm Vanilla Sauce (one of my favorite cakes ever)
Caramel Apple Bundt Cake
Apple Cinnamon Waffles
Apple Cinnamon Streusel Dessert Pizza
Caramel Apple Cider Floats
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping
Ingredients
Apples:
- 3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Streusel Topping:
- 1 cup (212 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup (142 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup (50 g) quick cooking oats
- ½ cup (113 g) salted butter, softened
Shortbread Base:
- 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (106 g) packed brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter, softened
Cream Cheese Layer:
- 2 packages (8-ounces each) (454 g) cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Caramel Sauce:
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup (212 g) packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup heavy cream cream
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla, can cut down to 1 teaspoon for less vanilla flavor
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil (helps with cleanup but isn't necessary). Lightly grease the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- For the apples, in a small bowl, stir together the chopped apples, two tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- For the streusel, in a medium bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients and mix with a pastry blender or two forks (or your fingers) until crumbly. Set aside.
- For the shortbread base, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but evenly and well combined. Press the crust evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until very lightly browned around the edges.
- For the cream cheese layer, while the crust is baking, in a large bowl with an electric handheld mixer (or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), beat the cream cheese with the 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Mix until evenly combined, scraping down the edges of the bowl as needed. Pour over the warm crust.
- Give the apple mixture a good stir and spoon over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the filling is set.
- For the caramel sauce, add the butter, brown sugar, cream, and salt to a saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook while stirring gently for 5-7 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. If the caramel sauce has been refrigerated, warm slightly to pour over the bars.
- Cool the bars to room temperature. Drizzle with the caramel topping (or plate individual slices and drizzle with topping one by one).
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: Bars adapted from my brother, Nate (I think he originally found them here), caramel sauce from Pioneer Woman
Recipe originally published October 2010; updated with new photos, commentary and recipe notes.
I won a work dessert contest with this recipie! It beat out 30 other submissions and I won $50! Thank you for sharing this!
Yay! Way to go!
I used cup4cup flour to make it gluten free and it turned out perfect! I did add an egg yolk to the shortbread because I was worried the gf flour would be too crumbly. That worked really well. I don’t think anyone would be able to tell it was gf. Thanks, Mel!
(Oh! And I used gluten free quick oats too. That’s important if you want it to truly be gluten free!)
That’s awesome these worked out gluten-free, thanks for the review to let others know, Rachel!
I made two of these for a large family gathering but we only used one due to too many other desserts. So I froze the other one for about two weeks because we were having a church chili/dessert bake off. I thawed it the day of and made a batch of caramel. I thought it would be nice although it had been frozen. I didn’t expect to win any prizes. HOWEVER, I won first place among 75 other desserts. And everyone wanted the recipe. So I referred them to your site.
That is amazing, MaryAnn! Congratulations!
This sounds amazingly delicious, but the total amount of sugar is 3 cups + 2 tablespoons, that’s a lot for a 9×13 pan! Did anyone find it way too sweet? If so, how much sugar did you cut back on?
Thanks! I’d like to try this for Canadian thanksgiving next weekend!
Wondering about the last 2 instructions. Your giving instructions how to make the caramel sauce. At the end of that instruction is says once the sauce is thick it is to be poured over the bars. The final instruction says to cool the bars completely to room temperature. Once cooled to drizzle the bars with caramel topping. My question is what is the caramel topping? Is this something different from the caramel sauce that’s already been poured over the bars prior to them being.cooled to room temp? Or is this the same thing?. If different how much is needed and what is it? If it’s the same, when should it be.put on the bars, before or after they have cooled??
The caramel topping is referring to the caramel sauce. It should be poured over the bars after they have been cooled to room temperature.
Hi,
Would I be able to make this ahead and freeze them?
Would it be just as good if i made it with a graham cracker crust instead?
That would be yummy!
I have been making this recipe since you came out with it. It is made several times a year and requested for birthday cakes as well haha! So dang delicious!
Forgot to leave five stars!
Oh. Dear. Lord. These are so dang good. I “cheated” and used bottled caramel sauce and have zero regrets, but next time I’ll probably go ahead and make it. Thank you, Mel, you make all our lives so much better!
Absolutely delicious! Do yourself a favor and make it.
I want to make this recipe ,it looks so good. I need to know if it can be made using gluten free flour and egg replacement as I am sensitive to gluten and eggs. Thank you Kath
Hi Kath, I think it should work well with gluten-free flour. As for an egg replacement, you’d have to experiment, but I think it stands a good chance of working, too.
Hi! I would like to make these for a big group of teachers. Can I double the recipe and make in a sheet pan?
I think that should work! You might be able to 1 1/2 the recipe for a half sheet pan – the sides of those pans are much shallower than a 9X13-inch pan and I don’t want the cheesecake to overflow.
Can I shred the apples instead of dice??
You could definitely experiment doing that…I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure how it would work.
I have made this before and it got rave reviews. Tomorrow, I want to try it with blueberries (fresh) that I bought today. I think I would omit the caramel topping though. Do you think that would work?
Yes, I think that would be delicious!
I am planning on serving these Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars and would like to know if they can be made ahead of time.
Yes! They do well made ahead of time.
I’m not gonna’ lie – the 5 different elements of this recipe intimidated me. But, after reading the description to my son, he convinced me to make them with his help. And, boy – not disappointed – worth the effort. Granted, each element in itself wasn’t too difficult, I was just being lazy, I guess. I used reduced fat cream cheese, which was the only modification. Delish!
Hi Mel! I have made these bars once before and my family loved them. I am going to make them again for a midway between Thanksgiving and Christmas meal we are having at my Dad’s house, and I was wondering if you think I could assemble them a day or two before I want to bake them and put them in the refrigerator, and then add the streusel and bake them the day of our meal? It would save a ton of time. I just have no idea if that would work. Thanks and happy holidays!
Yes, I think you could definitely do that!
Can these be frozen?
Yes! Wait to drizzle the caramel until after they have thawed (right before serving)
Overall very good! If I were to make again, I would increase the amount cheesecake filling and apples and cut down a bit on the streusel. I thought it was kind of a thin layer of cheesecake to crust/topping ratio
Wanted to add to my post above…
my shortcut is to use already made caramel topping – Ghirardelli Caramel is fantastic and comes in a squeeze bottle to easy to make the plate and dessert look pretty! I’ve used the sea salt caramel also and it’s fantastic!
Delicious!! Made it for my bunco group and they LOVED it!! About to make it for one (of many) Thanksgiving desserts!!
Thanks, Dawn
These are time consuming but so good I haven’t made them in a couple of years. My main concern is no to ver cook and with the apples on top kind of heard to tell
When stored back into the fridge does the strussel get soggy?
The streusel does soften a bit but it doesn’t get soggy.
I brought these to work and they were a hit! So many people asked for the recipe. I will definitely make these again. Recipe was nicely laid out and easy to follow.
This is my favorite dessert on your site and we have made many! This is a big hit at Thanksgiving and any other gathering. Soooo good!!
would i need to cut this recipe in half if i’m using an 8×8 pan? (i don’t own a 9×13 pan)
Yes, it would need to be halved for that size of pan.
Would you change anything (cook time or temperature) if you are cooking this in a glass 9×13?
Sometimes glass pans don’t bake as evenly, so I’d reduce the temp by 15 to 25 degrees and just keep an eye on the baking time (It might need a bit longer)
Can you make these with any other kind of Apple? Have never liked granny apples
Yes! Honeycrisp or gala apples work great.
These were absolutely amazing and I will definitely be making them again!! However, do we need to refrigerate the leftovers? Is the cheesecake ok out at room temp?
Yes, they should be refrigerated.
Can you freeze these caramel strudel bars.
Yes. I wait to top them with the caramel drizzle after they have thawed.
ok thanks will do
Can I use old fashioned oats and maybe soak them for a bit. Just don’t wanna buy a whole nother thing of oats for this recipe when I never use the quick ones
You can blend the old-fashioned oats a bit and they’ll work for quick oats.
Thank you! And how do you know if the filling is set?
It should be slightly puffed and not completely raw in the center.
As I finish my Thanksgiving grocery list today (I only have to contribute, not host) I came to your site to make sure I’d professed my appreciation for this recipe and was shocked not to find my name in the comments already! I started making these probably about the time you originally posted the recipe and they’ve become a Thanksgiving staple (ie, my in-laws might disown me if I didn’t show up with them and my other signatures, peanut butter pie and corn macaroni casserole). So, on behalf of all of the people who will try to steal the pan when I walk in the door on Thursday, thank you!
Wow, This recipe is different and delicious. Thank you for sharing.
This recipe was so good! It was very easy to make and it turned out delicious!
Thanks, Emily!
Totally mind blowing! I’ve only made them twice and both times they stole the show.
Okay, so I made this for Thanksgiving this year, just to have another option outside of our typical pumpkin pie (not complaining, I love my pumpkin pie). With all of the other commotion, it was maybe not the best time to tackle this recipe as it was unfamiilar and had a lot of steps. But, let me just say that these are going to the top of our “must make again” pile. They were so worth the effort. We might have used the left over caramel sauce in our coffee, on random fruit, in our oatmeal. . .. fantastic! Who doesn’t want to have a convenient little bottle of caramel sitting around the kitchen? Thanks for this recipe. LOVE.
Thanks for the report, Jenny! Glad they were a hit despite it being a bit chaotic to make them!
Hi, I plan on making these bars for Thanksgiving and I wanted to know if I would be able to make it in a 9×9 pie pan? Btw I came across your lemon bars recipe a few years back and yours is by far the best, I’ve been a fan of yours every since!
I think you’d definitely want to halve the recipe if baking in that small of a pan. Happy Thanksgiving!
Divine! There are lots of steps, but they are easy. We served this to company and both they and my family said they were the best! Soooo good! The left over caramel sauce is extra yummy on apples or ice cream. So good!
Glad these were a hit, Jen! Thanks for letting me know!
If I make this 1 day ahead of time, is it stored in the refrigerator or at room temp?