Caramel Apple Bars

R

rita-in-ill

Active member
Found this on recipegirl's blog..looks wonderful. Now I need to convince myself to try to make caramel sauce.

CARAMEL APPLE BARS

www.RecipeGirl.com

HOMEMADE CARAMEL:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 cups brown sugar

¼ cup light corn syrup

4 Tbs butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

CRUST:

1 cup brown sugar

¾ cup butter

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup ground pecans

2 cups rolled oats

FILLING:

3½ cups sliced apples (about 24 ounces)

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup homemade caramel

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 9×13-inch pan with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.

2. Prepare caramel: Mix caramel ingredients in a 2-quart saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring constantly, until it reaches soft-ball stage (230-234 degrees). Remove from heat.

3. In a medium bowl, beat the brown sugar and the next 4 ingredients (through baking soda) until thoroughly combined. Mix in the flour, ground pecans and oats until crumbly. scoop out 1 cup and set aside. Place the remaining crumbs into your prepared pan and press down firmly to coat the bottom.

4. Toss apples in a large bowl with the salt and cinnamon. Arrange them over the crust. Drizzle 1 cup of warm caramel over the top and the sprinkle with the remaining crumbs you set aside.

5. Bake 35- 40 minutes until bubbly and the apples are just tender. Remove and let cool until they are just warm to the touch. Cut into squares. Try and let the bars rest until the caramel has set before serving.

Cooking Tips

*The caramel recipe makes more than you will use for this recipe, so you can pour the rest into an 8×8-inch pan lined with foil and let cool. Cut into squares and you have your own homemade caramel squares.

Recipe Source: Adapted from KA Cookie Companion via Desert Culinary Blog

Read more: http://www.recipegirl.com/2008/07/31/caramel-apple-bars/#ixzz12eQkBCBz

 
Thanks for posting this. Sure would be easier to buy and melt

some wrapped caramels for me I think. Not sure I could get it to the right stage... if I make the caramel apples, I think I'll buy a package and unwrap. I think you just add a couple of tablespoons of water and microwave it until melted.

If you do make it from scratch, please post how it came out!

 
Here's a foolproof, ultra easy recipe for caramel sauce if anyone's interested:

I forgot to add, it's delicious!

CARAMEL SAUCE

From the poster: "You can use this on so many different things. By adjusting the cooking time, you can make it as thick as you like according to what you are going to use it on. I like to make it thicker to use on ice cream and thinner for desserts. I often double the recipe so I have some left over for later."

INGREDIENTS:

* 3/4 cup butter (I used unsalted)
* 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar (I used light brown)
* 2 tablespoons water
* 1/4 teaspoon salt (I used a little more since I used unsalted butter)
* 3/4 cup evaporated milk
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine butter, brown sugar, water, and salt in a medium sauce pan, over medium heat, stirring constantly.
2. Bring to boil for 3 to 5 minutes depending upon thickness desired. (I boiled 5 minutes).
3. Remove from heat and stir in evaporated milk and vanilla. (My note: chill if you want a thicker consistency).

2 1/2 cups (My note: made about 1 1/2 cups).

http://www.recipezaar.com/Caramel-Sauce-69479

 
Hi Rita! Thanks for posting the apple bar recipe. I tried out some caramel

this weekend. The Basic Caramel in Fine Cooking. I always struggle with caramel and have sacraficed many a potfull to the caramel gods! However, there was something in this recipe that I found very helpful and I made it on my first try. The clue for me seemed to be to use a larger pot. The recipe has 1C sugar and said to use a 2 quart pot. It worked great! In the past I used smaller pot and I think there wasn't enough surface area to evaporate the liquid fast enough and it took forever, then it burned.

Maybe try your recipe and use a larger pot to make the caramel in? It just might work!

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/basic-caramel-how-to.aspx

 
This is good to know... I just bought the itmes to make the caramel coating for the

caramel apples I'm going to make. The recipe I'm using is a little different from Fine Cooking's: corn syrup, condensed milk, brown sugar, cellophane bags, sticks, and then peanuts, chocolate mini-morsels, and sprinkles to roll them in (these last 3 I bought it the bulk food section). The apples I had - geesh, I should'a just made a donation of $10 myself. At least I'll make a few for us to keep, so it's worth it I guess.

 
Oooh, nevermind. This is totally different from the caramel I'm making. When I saw that the

only ingredient was sugar (and the lemon juice) I was confused, until I realized that yours is a hard caramel. Interesting, but I'm making the opaque, gooey kind. :eek:)

 
Dawn, could you post your caramel recipe. please?

DD wants to make these, and my caramel recipe is just a little drippy for this.

TIA smileys/smile.gif

 
Sure - it's inside, but I think 248F sounds a little high

doesn't it? I've read "soft-ball" stage in other recipes and I think that's about 236?

Ingredients
1 cup butter ( no substitutes)
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 -10 wooden sticks
8 -10 medium tart apples

Directions
1. Insert 1 wooden stick into each apple.
2. In a heavy saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and milk; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. Cook and stir until a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees (firm ball stage) about 30-40 minutes and for a softer caramel cook just to a few less degrees.
4. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
5. Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture; turn to coat.
6. Holding by the stick, sprinkle with nuts or whatever you desire while the caramel is still warm (work quickly the caramel sets up fast).
7. Set on generously buttered wax paper to cool (make certain to generously butter the paper).
8. Note: if making a double recipe make two recipes in two separate pots.

http://www.food.com/recipe/kittencals-caramel-apples-73274

 
Thanks! It's actually pretty much the same as mine, except that I use the microwave.

It's the recipe that Sheila in MD posted on the other board yonks ago.

We made test apples today. It did pool a lot, but the caramel is so delicious the girls decided to use that recipe anyway. Then we drizzled them with chocolate. Mmmm.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top