Apple Peanut Butter Caramel Bars
Vegan apple peanut butter caramel bars with an apple pie filling in a graham cracker crust, a spiced crumb topping and ribbons of peanut butter caramel over the top.
Notes
~To make graham cookie crumbs for the cookie crust, just blitz the crackers in a food processor until fine. You can actually use different types of wafery cookies here. Vanilla or speculoos or even peanut butter would be nice!
~For a sweet and salty combo, sprinkle some flake sea salt, like Maldon, over the caramel before it sets. 1/4 teaspoon should do it.
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup refined coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons vegan milk unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Crumb Topping:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 to 3 tablespoons refined coconut oil melted
For the Apple filling:
- 3 pounds Granny Smith apples about 6, cored and sliced thinly (peeling is optional)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Peanut Butter Caramel:
- 2/3 cup natural peanut butter well stirred
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons brown rice syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Prepare the crust:
- Place the graham cracker crumbs in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with the oil and mix until moistened. Add the milk and mix with your fingers; the crumbs should hold together if pinched. Press the crumbs firmly into the prepared baking pan to form a crust.
Prepare the topping:
- Combine the flour, sugar, spices, and salt in a mixing bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil into the flour and mix with your fingertips until crumbs start to form. Keep tossing the mixture with your fingers; you want the crumbs to be fairly large for crumbs. Add more oil if necessary.
Prepare the apple filling:
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, coating all the apples.
Assemble:
- Layer the apples onto the crust and sprinkle with the crumb topping. The topping won’t solidly cover the entire pan; just sprinkle it randomly over the top so that the apples are peeking through in places. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the apples are tender.
When the bars are close to being done, start preparing the peanut butter caramel:
- Mix all the ingredients very well with a fork, in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat for about 3 minutes. The mixture should soften and slide off the fork in ribbons.
- When the bars are done baking, drizzle the caramel in ribbons all over the top. Let cool completely before serving. You can let them chill in the fridge to cool faster. Slice into bars and serve.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
