Periodically during the year, the wonderful Cantor at my synagogue does a musical Shabbat service for Friday evening, featuring a full group of musicians and a musical theme. I usually volunteer to bake desserts for the evening; I like to challenge myself to bake desserts that, in some way, represent the theme.
Last month the theme was “Warm Up Your Soul.” I made snickerdoodles, gingerbread loaf cake (this recipe using the fresh ginger and adding chopped crystallized ginger, baked in medium loaf pans), these amazing earl grey tea cookies, a variation of the flourless Mexican hot chocolate cookies (mentioned here), and eggnog bars. I wanted something with fruit, and settled on the idea of caramel apple bars.
I settled on this recipe, and made it as written for the event. It was wonderful, except there was too much batter for the size pan (I had doubled it to make a half sheet, and ended up making a half sheet plus a 9×13″), and the sugar level seemed very high.
I decided to make a few changes for the second batch. I reduced the overall volume of the batter to make it more like the bar it’s supposed to be, and I reduced the sugar.
My tasters (congregants) didn’t notice a difference between the first and second batches, so I’m confident this was a success, and I will certainly be making it again and again, if only because it’s the third sweet I’ve gotten our Rabbi addicted to.
A fairly simple batter (butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder) is prepared while chopped apples are simmered with caramel sauce. The apple-caramel mixture is stirred into the batter and then the bars are baked, resulting in a lovely light bar, with intermittent chunks of apple and a caramel flavor that isn’t noticeable at first but lingers on the palate, making you reach for another piece, and another, and another…
On the bright side, apples are available year round and these are pretty easy to put together.
Ingredients
- 3 cups apples, peeled and cut in chunks (see note)
- 6 tablespoons thick caramel sauce (I used Smuckers Simple Delights Salted Caramel Topping) or dulce de leche
- 9 tablespoons butter
- 1-1/3 cups dark brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9x13" pan with parchment paper, and spray the bottom and sides of the pan with nonstick spray.
- Place the chopped apples and caramel sauce (or dulce de leche) in a pot and start to heat gently, stirring to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom. Bring it up to a simmer for several minutes; it's fine if it comes to a boil, but it doesn't need to. Stir enough to make sure nothing is sticking until the juice comes out of the apples, when it should thin enough to not need regular stirring. Cook until the apples look partially cooked and the caramel has thinned and looks saucy. Remove from heat.
- While the apples are starting to soften, start the batter. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix on medium speed for at least three to five minutes, until very light, fluffy, and thick.
- Lower the speed, and start adding the dry ingredients, mixing just enough to combine. Batter will be fairly thick at this point. If using a stand mixer, detatch bowl from the mixer and remove the beater.
- When the apple and caramel mixture isn't super hot (it's fine if it's warm), add them to the bowl of batter, and use a spatula to stir it all together. Scrape the contents into the prepared pan. If necessary, level the batter.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Let cool. Run a knife around the edges, and remove bars from the pan - parchment paper on the bottom means they should release cleanly. Cut into bars and serve.
- Note: If you cut the apples into smaller chunks, they will almost dissolve into the batter, whereas larger chunks will be more present in the cooked bars. Both ways are delicious, so choose the size that you prefer.