The Gunny Sack

Caramel Pecan Apple Bars

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These apple bars are easy to make with a cake mix crust! This is my first of many apple recipes this fall.

Apple Bars RecipeOne of my favorite things about fall is apple desserts and apple recipes! Every year we spend a day or two at apple orchards in the area. They are already open for the season but we usually wait until later in September and into October to go. A couple of weekends ago, we ate at one of the apple orchard’s restaurants with some friends of ours. I was impressed with their selection of baked treats and am going to try to make some of them. Before, I get started on those recipes, I wanted to try making Apple Bars. My idea was to make more of a cookie bar so I used my recipe for White Chocolate M&M Cookie Bars as the base. Since the apples have a lot of moisture in them the base is softer and less sturdy than the cookie bars base was.

Apple Dessert RecipesThe base of the bars is a spice cake mix, 1 stick of butter and an egg. The second layer is 2 chopped Granny Smith apples coated with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. The third layer is roughly chopped pecans. The final layer is  one can of sweetened condensed milk.

Caramel Apple Pecan Bars RecipeBake the bars for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Apple Recipe BarsThe bars are delicious! If you want to remove them from the pan, allow the bars to cool first.

Apple_RecipesOr serve them warm, directly from the pan with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of caramel and some chopped pecans.

5 from 1 vote
Apple Bars Recipe
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Caramel Pecan Apple Bars
Course: Dessert
Author: The Gunny Sack
Ingredients
  • 1 spice cake mix
  • 1 stick butter softened
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Granny Smith apples
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans
  • 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Mix together cake mix, egg and butter.
  3. Pat into a parchment lined, greased 9×13″ pan.
  4. Peel and chop apples.
  5. Toss with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  6. Sprinkle chopped apples over the cake batter in the pan.
  7. Top with chopped pecans.
  8. Drizzle with sweetened condensed milk.
  9. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Here’s another fall dessert recipe:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Baked DoughnutsPumpkin Chocolate Chip Doughnuts

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Comments

  1. This looks really delicious but if I am going to attempt to do it I need something friendly for diabetes prone health. Is there a substitute for the condensed milk?? As in maybe using 2% and some powdered sugar instead? I have to be careful not to overdo my sugar carbs and that just has too much sweetness to it. As much as I would like to use it I shouldn’t. The tart apples get enough sweetness from the cake mix and I would add nuts to this of course! Is that possible to do and still be accepted to eat for a dessert??

    Reply

  3. Hi! I want to make this recipe for Thanksgiving but I spend the holiday at another house and would have to transport the dessert. How would I approach re-warming the bars when I arrive at the house? I would really like to serve them warm and with ice cream. Thank you!

    Reply

    • Hey Madison! Sorry I’ve been away from my computer. Had a grooms dinner last night and baking/cooking for Thanksgiving today. I would just warm them up in the microwave. Start with 30 seconds and check them. Keep heating in 15 second intervals until warm. Enjoy! ~Tonia

      Reply

  4. Hi i am from France and i dont know what is a spice cake mix. Can i change it for a home made cake mix like a victoria sandwich mix with all spice ( 2 eggs, 100g of sugar, 100 g of butter, 100 g of flour.)

    Reply

  5. Hi Tonia, these sound great, I have two questions though: 1. by stick of butter, do you mean a quarter cup stick or a half cup stick? 2. Do you think I can add extra condensed milk? I really want them to by caramel-y. I can’t wait to make these for Thanksgiving, thank you for sharing this.

    Reply

    • Hi Ashleigh,
      It’s a half cup of butter and I’ve never tried adding extra condensed milk, but I think that it would work. You could also try adding caramel ice cream topping like they do in Oatmeal Carmelita recipes. Happy Baking!
      ~Tonia

      Reply

  6. SHUT the Front DOOR OMG These just came out of the Oven and the Smell is Amazing . Can’t wait to share it after dinner

    Reply

  7. I just took these out of the oven. Made mine in my cast iron skillet lined with parchment paper. Is it me or it seemed to take alittle longer to set?
    Looks beautiful though & bought ice cream and of course caramel too!! Can’t wait to try! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    Reply

  9. In the pictures you posted, it looks like the cake is baked before you add the rest of the toppings then bake again. Is that the case or is the cake mix raw when you add the rest of the ingredients?

    Reply

    • Hi Jennifer,
      The cake mix layer is raw. It is very thick and pressed onto the bottom of the pan. Happy Baking!
      ~Tonia

      Reply

    • Ooh my goodness I love baking things that make my house smell like Thanksgiving. I can’t wait to put mine in the oven. 😃

      Reply

    • Hi Barbara,
      The sweetened condensed milk caramelizes and really holds everything together. I think that you could use melted, non-dairy caramels instead.
      Happy Baking!
      ~Tonia

      Reply

  11. This recipe looks and sounds SO good I am afraid I will be committing a crime if I make it. But, hey, I think it’s worth the jail time!
    😉

    Reply

  12. The spice cake mix you just add a stick of butter and a egg. That is all. Then you put on thr layer . Just want to know if that is right. Thank You Pat

    Reply

  16. OMG! I’m sitting here looking for an apple recipe to make for thanksgiving, I usually make an apple pie, pecan pie, and a pumpkin pie. This year I’m looking for something new. When I saw your Carmel Apple Pecan Bars, I knew this is it! This is a great combo for two of my pies, and I love anything with sweetened condensed milk. Thanks so much for sharing, happy thanksgiving 🙂

    Reply

  28. Thanks Tonia! I was thinking about making some apple recipes and this sounds perfect! I love sweetened condensed milk recipes, and using the spice cake mix is well, genius!! Thanks so much!

    Reply

  30. So beautiful, Tonia! My husband feels I should stay up and make this, even though it’s going on 10 pm. We just discovered it and it looks so delicious! Yum!

    Reply

  32. Yum! I am loving all the apple goodness this year. I am working on apple recipe for a week of apple treats and something very similar to this was on my list 🙂 Great minds think alike!!! I love that you put ice cream on them too!

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Tonia, a lover of food and photography! Fill a gunny sack with delicious ingredients, tie on an apron and let's get cooking
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