Caramel. Apples. Oatmeal. If you’ve already taken your annual trip to the apple orchard and like me, gotten carried away with how many apples you “needed” to buy, this is a delicious way to use one apple at a time. A special request from my little sister—our favorite Caramel Apple Nut Bars from Betty Crocker.
{Caramel Apple Nut Bars}
2 cups flour
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups butter or margarine, softened (I always use REAL butter)
1/2 cup caramel topping (I’ve also used 1 bag of KRAFT or Brach’s caramels melted w/ 1/4 cup evap milk)
3 Tablespoons flour (omit if using bag of caramels)
1 medium apple, peeled and finely chopped (1 cup)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans (I grind in a cheese grater)
Instructions:
Heat oven to 350˚ and grease bottom and sides of 13 x 9 pan. Or use non-stick foil to line the pan. In a large bowl, beat the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and butter with mixer on low speed or mix with spoon until crumbly. Press 3 cups of mix in pan. Bake 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix caramel topping and 3 tablespoons of flour. (Or if using caramels, melt caramels with 1/4 cup evaporated milk and omit the flour.) Sprinkle apples and pecans over partially baked crust. Drizzle with caramel mixture. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before cutting.
Can’t wait to make this for my folks when they arrive tomorrow! Thanks for sharing!
Sounds sweet! Did you have a chance to make the bars?
[...] It’s always fun when baking leads to the liquor store. In honor of National Dessert Day, I posted on my Facebook site that I would bake and blog a recipe if someone shared something with me that they like to make. The first request came from one of my friends and high school classmates, Derek Clever. (Thinking back to the Guns ‘n Roses and Purple Passion days of the 80s, I wasn’t surprised Derek’s recipe included liquor.) He begins his year with this pie and ends with it as he said, “I make it twice a year; Christmas and New Year’s.” My second request was from my sister for our favorite Caramel Apple Nut Bars. [...]