Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are like two desserts in one! A creamy cheesecake layer is topped with cinnamon apples and a streusel topping. Finished with a caramel drizzle, they’re perfect addition to your Thanksgiving dessert table and are loved throughout the year as well!
All the best parts of an apple crisp, caramel apple and cheesecake in one bar? Yes, please
I am such a sucker for caramel apples.
Whether I’m dipping slices of fresh apple into caramel sauce or eating them on a stick at a fall festival, this combination of flavors makes me extra happy.
Why it never occurred to me before to drizzle caramel over an apple cheesecake is a mystery.
Now I know what I was missing.
SAVE THIS CARAMEL APPLE CHEESECAKE BARS RECIPE TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!
I consider this a fall dessert, but honestly?
Go ahead and make them any time of year.
I’ve never known anyone to turn down a Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bar no matter what the calendar says.
Everyone NEEDS these cheesecake bars in their life!
We’re talking rich buttery caramel over tart cinnamon apples with a cheesecake base and a crumble topping.
Do I have to say more?
What do I need?
Don’t let the long list of ingredients fool you. Once you have everything ready, the bars come together easily.
For the crust:
- graham crackers
- butter
- brown sugar
For the cheesecake layer:
- cream cheese
- sugar
- vanilla egg
For the apple layer:
- sliced apple
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- cloves
For the streusel topping:
- oats
- flour
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- melted butter
I almost forgot about the best part: the caramel drizzle! To make homemade caramel sauce, I melt unwrapped caramel candies in the microwave with a bit of heavy cream.
Don’t feel like making your own caramel sauce? Use a bottle or jar of store bought caramel topping instead.
What kind of apples should I use?
Granny Smith are the best apples for these cheesecake bars. With so many sweet layers, it’s nice to have that zing of tart flavor to balance everything out.
They’re also firmer than other kinds of apples, making them a perfect option for baking.
Pro Tips
- Make sure to add the caramel AFTER chilling the cheesecake bars. If you drizzle it on before chilling, the caramel will make the bars too hard. Trust me! I made this mistake once and the end result was hard enough to break a tooth.
- Use an electric mixer to combine the cheesecake ingredients. The cream cheese, eggs and sugar should be well incorporated, smooth and fluffy.
- Spray your square baking dish with baking spray before adding the graham cracker crust.
- Store leftovers tightly covered in the fridge. Enjoy within 3 -5 days.
Fair warning: these are going to smell so good as they bake that everyone in your home will scramble to the kitchen hoping for a taste. Waiting for them to chill and set is the hardest part–but it’s worth it!
Biting into a Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bar is pure autumn heaven.
Apple Recipes
This recipe only uses one apple, so if you’re looking more ways to put the fall apple harvest to good use, check out these other tasty treats.
- Bacon Caramel Apple Crisp
- Caramel Apple Pound Cake
- Caramel Apple French Toast Bake
- Caramel Apple Pie Crust Cookies
- Inside Out Caramel Apples
- Apple Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Caramel Apple Pound Cake
- Fried Apple Rings
- Skillet Apple Crisp
- Baked Cinnamon Apple Slices
- Apple Streusel Muffins
- Apple Oatmeal
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Make these Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars for your next Fall gathering.
They taste even better than they look!
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Equipment
- Mixer
- Mixing bowls
Ingredients
Crust
- ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Cheesecake Filling
- 8 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Apple Layer
- 1 Granny Smith apple
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
Streusel Topping
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup oats
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
Caramel Drizzle
- 12 individually wrapped caramels
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- OR salted caramel sundae topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare an 8 X 8-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the crust: graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter, and mix well with a fork.
- Place crust mixture into prepared baking dish, pressing down gently with your fingers.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until soft and smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Add the sugar, egg and vanilla and beat until smooth and thoroughly combined.
- Pour over crust, spreading evenly.
- In a medium bowl, combine ingredients for the apple layer: brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Mix well.
- Peel, core and dice the apple into small pieces. Add to dry ingredients and toss to coat.
- Distribute evenly over the cheesecake layer in the baking dish.
- In another medium bowl, combine ingredients for streusel topping: brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, and melted butter. Mix welll until a coarse meal is formed. Sprinkle evenly over apple layer.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until streusel is golden.
- Transfer baking dish to a wire rack to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for an hour or more to set.
- For the caramel drizzle, in a microwavable bowl, melt the caramels on increments of 30 seconds, until smooth, stirring in between. Allow to cool slightly and stir in the heavy cream.
- Drizzle with homemade caramel sauce or caramel sundae sauce topping before serving.
Nutrition
This post was updated on 8/15/16 and was updated again in format and with pictures on 11/3/21
Comments & Reviews
These look completely decadent, I even have some cream cheese in the fridge and apples… May have to try these later in the week!
Great choice for SRC, these look so delicious! Gorgeous presentation too 🙂 So glad to be in Group C with you!
Oh my heck! Heavenly! I wish I had a couple of these right now =o)
My mouth is watering big time. These look and sound so tasty. Glad to be part of SRC group C with you.
I love cheesecake bars and this is a fantastic variation!
Sounds like a great site! And, what a great recipe. Delicious!!!! Great SRC post.
I love the idea of a cheesecake bar…these look amazing. So glad to be in SRC with you!
Looks fabulous, Lynne! Yummy flavors and a wonderful idea… Great job with this one! 🙂
I think I’d be dipping everything into the caramel…yum!
If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to check out my Group ‘A’ SRC entry: Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites
Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
Looks delicious. who doesn’t love apples, caramel and cheesecake?
Great SRC pick.
This real mouthwatering and worth gulping. Thanks for this.
Food processing JObs
we don’t do many desserts but we all love cheesecake and apples (and I love caramel). I must make these!
I would have chosen this delicious recipe, too!! SO yummy! I’m all about moderation…and it would take all of my restraint not to eat all of these 🙂
I am starting to regret reading this before I have my dinner – this looks amazing, and I love the combo of apples and caramel!
oh goodness. caramel apple cheesy goodness?? heck yeah! happy SRC reveal from a group D member 🙂
These look amazing! Great choice. I am looking forward to making them!
So glad you enjoyed my site 🙂
Your bars came out amazing!!
Oh my goodness these look divine! I would love to invite you to share these, and any other posts you would like to, at my Creative Thursday link party (open thru Monday each week) at http://www.michellestastycreations.com. Have a great week 😉
Michelle
I had these at a potluck recently and oh my are they yummy!
I have made these a number of times and they are so so good!!!!! I make them in a 13 by 9 inch pan. I have made them for chriatmas and Easter and this one is the first one to go. Everyone has to try them.
Thank you so much for your comment, Tammy,that is so awesome to hear!!
🙂
Do you use quick oats or old fashioned
Jade, you can use either quick or old fashioned oats in this recipe. The old fashioned with give you more texture if that’s what you prefer.
These sound wonderful, but i think i will increase everything by 50% and make in a 9 X 13 pan. An 8 X 8″ pan wouldn’t be enough to feed the masses! 😉
Any idea on how you’d make these gluten-free?
A friend of mine made these gfree for me at our quilting group. She found gf vanilla graham cracker cookies at Festival Foods in WI and used that for the crust, then used a gf flour blend and gf oats. It was the most delicious thing I’ve had in a LONG time! Can’t wait to make them for myself!
That’s SO awesome, Rachel!! I’m so excited that you told me that and that they turned out so well! Enjoy them again and again and again!!
Can you just use a can of apple pie filling?
Hello, what else can I use instead the wrapped caramels! I don’t think I can find it here where I live.
By the way, it look delicious!!
Adriana, you can make your caramel from scratch: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/caramel-sauce-recipe.html
Anyone that has made these, have a recommendation on what brand/type of caramels to use? I bought generic soft caramel ‘cubes’ and it was a hard sticky mess!! But they were great without the caramel!
Meagan, I used the Kraft Caramels. They’re pretty consistent every time I use them.
I’ve made this recipe twice now and have a couple of helpful hints. One is I put a sheet of foil in the pan and mold it in the shape, then put parchment paper on top, so skipped the cooking spray, then begin with layering. I used 1 cup crushed graham crackers. Wonderful dessert, a keeper for sure! : )
Great ideas, Anna. Thanks for the tips and for your wonderful comment!
Hi! This looks yummy;i want to try it. However,can i use other varieties of apples like Fuji apple, green apple or washington apple because those are the ones commonly available here in the Philippines. Would greatly appreciate your response!
Karen, I used the Granny Smith apple which is a green apple because it’s one that bakes up the best, and stays firm. However, you can definitely substitute with another apple variety. I’d recommend Fuji as that works well, too!
What’s a good substitute for graham crackers? I’m very allergic to wheat. I’m trying to find alternatives that taste good and close to original.
Angela, there are other options. I believe in the organic or gluten-free sections of some grocery stores that they sell alternatives to graham crackers, but I also found this post when I did a Google search. Hope it helps!
http://www.thekitchn.com/5-fun-alternatives-to-graham-cracker-crusts-tips-from-the-kitchn-212257
Love this recipe as caramel apples are my favorite treat. But, the #%@&* add that printed out on the recipe is inappropriate !
These cheesecake bars are awesome! I made them for a Traveling Vineyard party I hosted. Everyone loved these! I will make them again! Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Aw, thank you so very much, Sara. I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much. They are quite delicious and always a hit here when I make them, too! Thanks for letting me know.
What kind of oats? Rolled oats? Old fashion? Quick oats ?
Alexandra, I used quick oats for this recipe. But if you want more texture, you can definitely use the old fashioned oats if you’d like.
I made these last night and they are absolutely heavenly! I doubled the recipe, baked in a 9×13 pan, used Fuji apples and cinnamon graham crackers because that’s what I had on hand, left out the cloves. I made my own caramel sauce without salt, although my husband said it was so delicious w/o the sauce so he didn’t use any. I had to stop him from eating them all in one night, as it was, he ate half the pan already!
What kind of oats?
Brittany, you can either use quick-oats or old fashioned. I personally prefer the old fashioned since I like the texture better.
Enjoy!
If you’re doubling the recipe what size pan do you suggest using?
Alisha, I would go with a 9 X 13-inch pan when doubling.
Enjoy them!