Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Caramel apple cheesecake bars with a buttery Biscoff cookie crust, thick cinnamon cream cheese filling, sautéed caramelized cinnamon apples, and a golden brown sugar oat crumble on top. Baked in an eight by eight dish until golden and refrigerated for at least four hours before slicing. The ultimate layered fall dessert bar that tastes like caramel apple cheesecake and apple crisp in every single bite.
Ingredients
For the Base:
- 2 cups biscoff cookies, crushed
- 6 tbs unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tbs granulated sugar
- pinch sea salt
For the Cheesecake Filling:
- 12 oz cream cheese, softened (1½ blocks)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp cinnamon
For the Cinnamon Apples:
- 2 honey crisp apples, cored and diced small
- 1 tbs butter
- 2 tbs brown sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- pinch sea salt
- 1 tbs corn starch
For the Oat Crumble:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup melted butter
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp sea salt
Topping:
- Caramel
- sea salt
Instructions
For the Base:
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ and line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a food processor or using a rolling pin, crush biscoff cookies until fine.
- Transfer to a medium bowl and add melted butter, sugar and salt. Stir to combine until mixture resembles wet sand.
- Pour mixture into the bottom of your baking dish and press firmly with a flat bottomed cup.
- Bake for 10 min and set aside.
For the Cinnamon Apples:
- Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
- Add apples, brown sugar and spices and stir until coated. Sautee for about 5 min until apples are soft and caramely.
- Stir in corn starch and remove from heat once it's fully incorporated.
- Spread apples out on a plate in an even layer to begin cooling. You want these completely cooled off before you add them to the cheesecake.
For the Cream Cheese FIlling:
- In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth.
- Add sugar and mix until smooth.
- Add egg and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Add cinnamon and mix until combined. Set aside.
For the Oat Crumble:
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar melted butter, cinnamon and sea salt and mix until crumbly bits form. Set aside.
Assemble and Bake:
- Pour your cream cheese filling on top of the biscoff crust and smooth.
- Add your cinnamon apples on top of the cheesecake layer spreading them evenly across the cheesecake.
- Add the oat crumble on top of the apples, covering all of the apples.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and the center still a little jiggly.
- Let it cool completely and then refrigerate for minimum 2 hours.
- Once set, drizzle with caramel, sprinkle with sea salt and cut into bars.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!