Salted Caramel Apple Crumb Bars are your easy fix when you crave an apple pie, but you are short on time. Vegan, Easy & Delicious!
Is there a better season, than fall? Why yes, my favorite is still summertime, but fall has its charms, too. The changing colors of the trees. The blankets of fallen leaves in the forest. Roasted chestnuts, pumpkins, and crispy apples.
What with everything happening currently, a new lockdown, the second wave of infections (here it is far worse than in Spring), I try to find joy in the little things, like spending time after lunch each day outdoor soaking up the sun. Our daily walks in nature. Morning cuddles with our cat.
And always, good food.
Being apple season (and the harvest this year has been bountiful), it’s only right to make an apple-based dessert and these Salted Caramel Apple Crumb Bars are just the perfect combination – a delicious apple filling, a hint of cinnamon, some tangy lemon, and a crunchy crumbly crust. And to top it off, a drizzle of delicious and easy salted caramel sauce.
All fully plant-based and a decadent treat.
Are these apple crumb bars easy to make?
Yes, absolutely, they are easy to make! There are a couple of steps, but nothing difficult.
Making the crumb dough
First, you prepare the dough by mixing the ingredients. You can do this in a food processor, so it’s super fast and easy, but if you do not have a food processor, you can mix it by hand just as well. Once your dough is done, separate it into two parts, folding chopped pecans into one part.
Making the apple filling
Then, you prepare the apple filling, which only takes peeling and dicing the apples, then bringing them together in a saucepan with your other ingredients and cook them for 10-15 minutes, so they start to soften.
Assembling and baking
You’re almost done with prep work! Preheat your oven, line a baking tin with parchment paper, then press in half the dough (the half without the pecans) until you cover the bottom of the pan with a compact dough. Place it in the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes at 160°C / 320°F. Once baked, top the dough with the apple filling and crumble the rest of the dough on top, and place back into the oven for another 40-50 minutes, depending on how hot your oven runs.
Once baked, let it cool completely, as it will be quite loose fresh from the oven. Once cooled, the apple crumb will hold its shape better and be ready to be cut into bars.
Make the Salted Caramel Sauce
This is not really caramel per se, as it is not done the traditional way, but it is a sweet and salty sugary coconut sauce that is super simple to make, way more simple than the traditional caramel, as you just cook the ingredients in a saucepan until the sauce reduces, and add some salt at the end. That’s it! Really easy, but you still get a hint of that salted caramel flavor.
How do I store these Apple Crumb Bars?
We recommend storing the Apple Crumb Bars refrigerated in an air-tight container. Keep the Salted Caramel Sauce separated and only drizzle it on top right before serving, otherwise, it will make the crumb soggy. The Apple Crumb Bars will keep refrigerated for up to 4 days, but you can also freeze them and store frozen for up to 3 months.
Salted Caramel Apple Crumb Bars
Salted Caramel Apple Crumb Bars are your easy fix when you crave an apple pie, but you are short on time. Vegan, Easy & Delicious!
Ingredients
The dough:
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 200 grams of vegan butter
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Apple filling:
- 700 grams apples (use half sour apples, and half sweet apples)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Salted Caramel:
- 200 milliliters coconut milk
- 75 grams of brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: in a food processor add 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon and pulse to combine. Add diced vegan butter and pulse again until you get a crumbly dough that just about starts to stick together. Divide the dough into 2 parts and fold in chopped pecans into one half of the dough.
- Preheat oven to 160°C / 320°F. Line a smaller baking tin with parchment paper. Add in the dough without pecans and push it into the bottom of the pan with your hands until you get a compact dough. Place into the preheated oven to bake for about 15-20 minutes until it starts to turn golden brown.
- Prepare the apple filling: peel apples, remove seeds, and dice. Place diced apple in a saucepan or pot, add in 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 2 tsp cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cook on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes until the apples soften and just about begin to dissolve into a sauce. Remove from heat, mash the apples roughly, so you get some pureed and some still whole dices. Top the apple filling on top of the pre-baked dough, then sprinkle the pecan-filled dough on top of it.
- Place the baking tin back into the oven and bake for another 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and crispy on top. Once baked, remove from the oven and let cool completely so the bars harden and hold their shape.
- Prepare salted caramel: Pour 200 milliliters of coconut milk into a pan, add 75 grams of brown sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Slowly bring to a simmer and cook on low while stirring for 20-25 minutes, until the sauce reduces. At this point, the sauce will still be runny. Remove from heat, stir in 1 tsp salt and let cool. It will keep refrigerated for up to one week.
- Cut about 12 square bars out of the baked apple crumb, then sprinkle with some icing sugar and drizzle with salted caramel on top.
- Serve or store refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
If you are storing the apple crumb bars, drizzle the salted caramel on top just before serving to prevent sogginess.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 382Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 514mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 3gSugar: 29gProtein: 3g
Nutrition data is automatically calculated using Nutritionix and may not be accurate.
This recipe is brought to you by Hofer Slovenija.
Find more recipes using apples here.
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