Are you drooling yet? :-). These delights are a combination of apple crisp and apple pie, made into bars for easier on the go indulging and for good measure, a healthy (or unhealthy!) drizzle of coconut caramel sauce. And then, just to take it up a level, the apple crisp topping isn’t just your average everyday crisp, it is peanut butter crisp and it is oh so good. If you know how good apples are dipped in peanut butter (and if you don’t you need to find out immediately) then imagine warm cinnamon-y apples with a crumbly peanut butter topping. And of course there is that caramel on top. It’s a little insane but the good kind of insane, the really yummy delicious kind :-).
The apples I used came from one of the old trees we have on the “farm” here in Vermont, a Red Astrachan. They are not an apple commonly found in the States so you should use your own favorite or use a combination of several types. My favorite apples for baking are Fuji, Pink Lady, Honey Crisp, Granny Smith and Jonagold.
Shared on the awesome Plant Based Potluck.
- Crust:
- ¾ cup coconut oil (melted)
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2¾ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Apple Filling:
- 6 large apples, peeled, cored and diced.
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- Peanut Butter Crisp:
- 1½ cups rolled oats
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup non-dairy butter, softened
- ½ cup crunchy peanut butter (it can also be smooth, but the crunchy adds a nice additional texture)
- Coconut Caramel Sauce:
- 1 cup full fat canned coconut milk
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon non-dairy butter
- Preheat oven 325F. Line a 9x13 baking pan with aluminum foil.
- To make the crust: Mix all the crust ingredients together until well combined into a dough. Press into prepared pan, pierce all over with a fork and bake for 20 minutes until lightly browned.
- While the crust is baking, prepare the caramel, apples and crisp.
- To make the caramel sauce (you can use as much or as little of this as you want on the bars): Combine the coconut milk and brown sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often and keeping a watchful eye so it doesn't boil over. Take off the heat and stir in the vanilla, ginger and non-dairy butter. Let cool completely. You can use the sauce right away or if you want a thicker sauce, refrigerate for a couple hours. [Leftover Caramel Sauce can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks.]
- To prep the apples: Combine diced apples, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and flour , mix well and set aside.
- To make crisp: Combine oats, flour, salt, sugar, and cinnamon and mix well. Using a pastry blender, forks or your fingers, rub the butter into the oats mixture until pea sized pieces. Add the peanut butter and work it in as well. (I use my hands to work in both the butter and peanut butter; it's super messy but so much easier that way].
- When the shortbread crust is done, spread the apples over evenly and then arrange the crisp on top. Bake for 35-40 minutes until apples are soft and crisp is lightly browned.
- Cool completely then liberally pour caramel on top.
![Simple Oatmeal Granola Bars [gluten-free!]](https://i0.wp.com/thelazyveganbaker.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/granola-bars-2.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1)
Yum! I could eat one right now! 🙂
I am sending you one virtually! 🙂
Yum! 😛
Yum! I love any dessert with apples in it! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing your healthy and delicious Peanut Butter Apple Crisp Bars with Coconut Caramel Sauce with us at the Plant-Based Potluck Party Link Up. I’m pinning and sharing.
Pingback: Share Good Food & Make New Friends at the Plant Based Potluck Party Link Up #64
I am seriously drooling right now! These look so good! I love how you made them into a bar – that much easier for portability. Yum =)
And you got the apples from your own apple tree? Talk about eating local ;p
Haha, yep keeping it local for sure :-). Thanks, portability was a very important consideration here!
These look awesome! Just got a whole bunch of fresh apples for free and I was looking for some vegan recipes to use them up. Can’t wait to give these a try! 😀
Thanks! Let me know if you make them, I love feedback. The Apple trees this year were producing tons – I was giving bags of apples free to everyone I knew too :-).