Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Caramel Apple Cookie Bars #AppleWeek #BakingBloggers

This post is sponsored on behalf of #appleweek. Our generous sponsors, Swiss Diamond, Envy Apples, Imperial Sugar, Nordic Ware, Rodelle Vanilla, Flahavan's Irish Oatmeal, Nairn's and The Spice House have provided us with products for recipe creation and a giveaway for our readers. As always, all opinions are my own.

These ooey gooey bars have all the great flavors that you love about Caramel Apples but are transported to your mouth via cookie instead of a stick!


Welcome to Day 2 of Apple Week.......


I am really excited about this recipe I am sharing today.  I love caramel apples but honestly, I think they are a pain in the neck to eat.  They were okay when I was a kid and didn't mind having caramel smeared all over my face when I would try to bite into a caramel apple but now that I'm an adult?  I would much rather enjoy the flavors without the mess, thank you very much.


You can always resort to cutting up your apples and dipping them in some caramel sauce.  And I have done that.  But it is not as much fun.  So instead I often try to incorporate those flavors into my baked goods like this  Apple Bundt with a Caramel Glaze.  Or even into my cocktails like this Caramel Apple Martini.

Today, I decided to add those flavors into a cookie bar.

Why?

Well, besides celebrating Apple Week today, I am also baking up Cookies with my friends, Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla and Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories.


The three of us are cooking our way through Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix.  We post each Tuesday.  We take turns choosing the themes each month.  Karen chose Cookies for this week's theme.

Let's see what she and Cam baked up for us........




I just followed Bittman's Basic Cookie Dough Recipe and then made them my very own.  This recipe is the perfect size to fit into the Quarter Sheet Baking Pan that I was gifted by one of our sponsors, Nordic Ware.


I made up the dough in about 10 minutes time and that included putting ingredients back into the cupboards.


I pressed the dough into the pan and then I coated it with some store bought caramel sauce that you would buy for making ice cream sundaes.


Peeling and dicing the apples was a breeze with this new paring knife provided by sponsor, Swiss Diamond.


Once the apples were diced I tossed them with a little butter, brown sugar, chopped pecans and a small single serving packet of Flahavan's Irish Oatmeal.  While I didn't personally get any product from Flahavan's for this event, I love their product and have worked with them in the past.  They not only provided some of our Apple Week bloggers with product they also are providing an amazing gift package for our readers to enter to win.

What prize package?  Oh my Lord.....wait until you see all the prizes being offered by our awesome sponsors for this event.  You are not going to want to miss your chance to win one of these amazing packages.  Head over to my Welcome Post.  You will learn all about all of the companies that are sponsoring us and have a chance to win one of their generous offerings to our readers.


Once the apples were tossed with all the goodies I sprinkled them all over the top of the cookie bar dough.


Put them in the oven and let them bake until the apples were tender and the cookie crust was a golden brown.


These cookies were absolutely amazing.  They may be my new favorite go to dessert for Fall parties. They are perfect for bonfires, tailgates, game day gatherings and family game night.

Let's see what the others made to celebrate Day 2 of Apple Week........

Join us all week long as we share more scrumptious apple recipes celebrating the first week of Fall.  Now on to my recipe.......


#apples, #caramel, #caramelapple, #cookies, #cookiebars,
Cookies, Desserts
American
Yield: 24 barsPin it

Caramel Apple Cookie Bars

These ooey gooey bars have all the great flavors that you love about Caramel Apples but are transported to your mouth via cookie instead of a stick!
prep time: 20 minscook time: 25 minstotal time: 45 mins

ingredients:

1 stick + 1 T. butter, room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 c. milk
3/4 c. caramel sauce
2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
1/2 c. crushed pecans
1/2 c. oatmeal
1 T. brown sugar

instructions

In large bowl of stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, cream the stick of butter with the sugar until light and creamy.  Beat in the vanilla and the egg.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Turn the mixer to low and add half the flour ingredients, stir in the milk and then the remaining flour mixture.

Press dough onto a quarter sheet baking pan that has been treated with baking spray.  Spread the caramel over the dough.  Set aside.

Combine the oatmeal, brown sugar and butter in a small bowl until crumbly.  Add the apples and pecans to the bowl, tossing to combine.  Sprinkle evenly over the cookie dough.

Bake in a preheated  375* oven for about 25 minutes, until the apples are tender and the cookie a golden brown.

NOTES:

Inspired by Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix and created for #AppleWeek.
Created using The Recipes Generator




8 comments:

  1. I NEED an apple cookie bar for a Thursday family fieldtrip. I might be able to swing this on Wednesday evening. Thanks for the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great way to use the oatmeal and apples with the dough. They sound amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love a good cookie bar and you have so many of my favorite flavors in here! Yummmmmmmm!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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