Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are the perfect Thanksgiving dessert recipe! Featuring a shortbread crust, spiced apple cheesecake layer, streusel topping, and caramel sauce… they’re pure decadence. Bake and cool the cheesecake, then drizzle with caramel before serving!
Here’s a recipe you’ll make over and over again this holiday season! This apple cheesecake bar recipe is simple and straightforward… but it produces SHOW-STOPPING results. And everyone knows bar desserts are perfect for serving a crowd, so that’s another win for this recipe.
But the main reason you’ll make these over and over again? They’re just so delicious. The flavors and textures in this recipe are just insane!
Ingredients for Caramel Apple Cheesecake
- Cream Cheese: Full-fat brick style cream cheese works best for this recipe. Make sure your cream cheese is nice and soft – room temperature – before using it in this recipe.
- Sour Cream: If you can’t find sour cream, plain full-fat Greek yogurt is a great substitute.
- Heavy Cream: Aka whipping cream, do not replace this with half and half or milk.
- Sugar: You’ll use granulated sugar in the creamy cheesecake batter, and light brown sugar for the spiced apples.
- Eggs: You’ll use whole eggs as well as egg yolks in this recipe. Use large variety eggs and bring them to room temperature. You’ll want to add the eggs one at a time and beat them on low speed.
- Vanilla Extract: Be sure to use pure vanilla extract, or bourbon vanilla extract, but not artificial or imitation vanilla.
- Flour: A small amount of all-purpose flour helps thicken the creamy cheesecake batter. I don’t suggest using any other variety of flour.
- Spices: Along with the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves make our spiced apples absolutely delicious. If you only have apple pie spice on hand, just use 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of that instead.
- Apples: I used Granny Smith apples in this recipe. But you can sub any apple variety you enjoy baking with! I’ve had success using pink lady apples and Honeycrisp apples.
Begin with the Shortbread Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350 and degrees before you start making the crust.
- Use a 9×13-inch METAL or aluminized steel baking pan and be sure to line it with parchment paper. If you use a ceramic baking pan or glass baking pan you’ll need to increase the baking time.
- You’ll need a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer to make the shortbread crust.
- Don’t worry yourself if the dough looks crumbly. Shortbread crust dough will be crumbly but will come together in the baking pan.
- Press the remaining crust mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. If you have a hard time pressing it into the pan, you can use a spoon.
Creamy Cheesecake Filling
- You’ll need a handheld electric mixer to make the creamy cheesecake filling. If you don’t have one, you can use a food processor or heavy-duty blender.
- Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as you’re making the cheesecake filling. This ensures there’s no lumps or clumps lost at the bottom of the bowl.
- Once you add the eggs, be sure to beat the cheesecake filling on low speed. Beating on too high of speed will incorporate too much air into the batter. Which will cause the batter to rise in the oven, which we don’t want.
Brown Sugar Streusel Topping
- The easiest way to make the topping is by using a pastry blender. But if you don’t have one, you can use two forks or your fingers.
- You can make the streusel topping right before you bake the caramel apple cheesecake bars, or you can make it a few hours beforehand. Just cover the bowl and store in the fridge.
- Use your fingertips to really crumble up the topping before adding it on the cheesecake layer. You don’t want the clumps too large or they’ll sink into the creamy cheesecake batter.
Cheesecake Baking Tips
- You’ll bake the cheesecake at two different temperatures. After 20 minutes, make sure you reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.
- For the creamiest cheesecake, don’t over bake the cheesecake bars. The bars are ready to come out of the oven when the filling is set around the edges. But the center of the cheesecake bars are still a little jiggly. The filling will completely set in the fridge.
- You MUST chill these cheesecake bars before serving. After you remove the bars from the oven, cool them at room temperature for an hour. Then refrigerate for at least 5 hours, or overnight.
Let’s Talk Caramel Sauce
Want to learn how to make easy salted caramel sauce? I have this easy foolproof recipe! Made with six simple ingredients you probably have in your kitchen right now! No candy thermometer required!
But if you’re not up for making homemade caramel sauce, use store-bought. I just suggest using a brand you know you enjoy. Nothing worse than delicious creamy cheesecake bars drizzled with caramel that tastes too sweet or artificial. You’ll need about a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of caramel sauce, depending on how much you plan on drizzling.
Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
For the Shortbread Crust:
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup (159g) light brown sugar packed
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Spiced Apple Creamy Cheesecake Filling:
- 3 8 ounce packages (681g) brick-style cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup (227g) sour cream
- 1 and 1/2 cups (249g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (113ml) heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 large Grannysmith apples peeled, cut into 1/8-inch pieces
For the Brown Sugar Streusel Topping:
- 1/2 cup (106g) light brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (62g) old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (227g) salted caramel sauce for drizzling
- flaky sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
For the Shortbread Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper, allowing paper to overhang on two of the ends. Spray with non-stick baking spray and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- On low speed, add flour, spices, and salt, and mix until combined. The dough will be crumbly.
- Press the remaining crust mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake for 8 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and set on a cooling rack to cool as you prepare the filling.
For the Spiced Apple Creamy Cheesecake Filling:
- In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sour cream until completely smooth.
- Add sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. On the lowest speed setting, add in the eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating just until combined. Stir in the flour, mixing just until combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cream, mixing just until it's incorporated in the batter. Pour the filling on top of the prepared crust and spread evenly.
- In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, spices, and apple chunks, mixing well to combine. Sprinkle the apples evenly on top of the cheesecake batter.
For the Brown Sugar Streusel Topping:
- In a large bowl combine both sugar, the flour, oats, and cinnamon. Add in the butter and using a pastry cutter, work the butter into the mixture until an even crumble has formed. Crumble evenly on top of the cheesecake mixture.
- Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and continue baking for 40 minutes, or until the edges have set and the middle is still a little jiggly. The cheesecake will firm up a lot as they cool.
- Remove the bars from the oven, and cool at room temperature for one hour. Then refrigerate for at least 5 hours, or overnight.
- When you're ready to serve, lift the cheesecake bars from the pan and transfer them to a cutting board. Drizzle generously with salted caramel sauce and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
- Using a large, sharp knife, slice the slab into squares, wiping the knife clean with a damp cloth between slices. Serve at once.
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Oh my goodness, these look incredible! I love the combination of salted caramel and apple in a cheesecake bar. Can’t wait to try this recipe out!
Jeri says
Just 1-1/2 TEASPOONS of flour for filling??? Is this a typo? (in middle of making it now!)
Ashley Manila says
That is correct! Just a small amount is needed to make the filling a little dense.
Telkom University says
Can you share the key ingredients needed to make Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars?
Brittany says
Not sure where to add in the heavy whipping cream. It’s not listed in the section for the filling of when to add it in. I left it out hoping it still turns out okay
Patricia Siqueiros says
Can I freeze these bars?
Anne Warwick says
This sounds fabulous and I plan to make it for Christmas.
Have you ever frozen it ? If so, how do you thaw it?
Ashley Manila says
Hi Anne. I have frozen these! I thaw them in the fridge the night before serving, and drizzle with the caramel sauce the day of serving. I don’t recommend freezing with the caramel sauce on top.
Anna says
Can I use mascarpone for this
Ashley Manila says
Hi Anna. You could replace 8 ounces of the cream cheese with mascarpone. I don’t recommend altering it more than that.
Marlene Newby says
I really wanted to make this recipe but it won’t let me print it. Anyone else having this problem??????
Yvonne says
Same for me too!
Ashley Manila says
Hi Marlene. I just had our tech team check and our print button doesn’t seem to have any malfunctions. Do you happen to have a pop-up or ad blocker installed on your computer? That can cause an issue with the print button properly working.
Charlotte says
I couldn’t print from my phone with the HP app I always use, but had no problem printing from my laptop.