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 Bar topped with ice cream and caramel

One 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.

steps for making apple bars

The 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 removed from pan

Bake the bars for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

apple bars forkful

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

apple bar slice with ice cream on plate

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

Apple Bars Recipe

Caramel Pecan Apple Bars

Yield: 20
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

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

Ingredients

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.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 251Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 231mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 4g

Nutrition data is calculated automatically by Nutritionix and isn't always accurate. I am not a certified nutritionist and make no claims to the contrary. Each individual’s dietary needs and restrictions are unique to the individual. You are ultimately responsible for all decisions pertaining to your health.

© The Gunny Sack
Cuisine: American / Category: Dessert

Here’s another fall dessert recipe:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Baked Doughnuts

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Doughnuts

Comments

  1. Guerin Danielle says

    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

    • Tonia says

      It is a yellow or white cake mix with spices in it. Here is a recipe from my friend Amanda at I Am Baker to try: http://iambaker.net/homemade-spice-cake-mix/ Best of luck! ~Tonia

      Reply

  2. Ashleigh says

    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

    • Tonia says

      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

  3. Angie says

    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

  4. Deanne Richard says

    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

  6. Jennifer Fischer says

    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

    • Tonia says

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

      Reply

    • Ms.Devon says

      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

    • Tonia says

      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

  8. Emilia says

    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

  9. Pat Keith says

    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

    • Annette says

      As a substitute for the spice cake, You can add 1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 1 teaspoon cinnamon + your choice of any or all 1/4 teaspoon each nutmeg, ginger, allspice cloves) to butter cake mix.

      Reply

  13. Hana says

    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

  17. Kristen Duke says

    YUM!! I love fall and these bars sound like the perfect fall treat. My mouth is watering just looking at your pictures!

    Reply

  25. Jenna says

    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

  27. Glenda says

    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

  29. Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says

    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

  30. Shannah @ Just Us Four says

    These look so good! We are hoping to head out for some apple picking this weekend and now I know the perfect thing to make with our bounty. 🙂

    Reply

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