Once the leaves start to fall to the ground, and the air gets a chill – there are two types of people – Those that love anything with apple and those that prefer things with pumpkin. It’s no secret that I’ve been on team pumpkin for years. After indulging in these gluten free Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars, I could be swayed to vote for all things apple.
The crisp crust and crumble topping are loaded with oats, brown sugar, and pecans. Add to that a layer of smooth cream cheese, a layer of chopped apples seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg, and top it all with a drizzle of caramel sauce, and you have the perfect fall dessert.
You can use store-bought caramel sauce, or you can do homemade. I’ve made THIS recipe numerous times over the past few years (just omit the salt), usually as part of an ice cream sundae gift pack for the kid’s teachers. Once you’ve had that, it’s hard to enjoy the store-bought topping. 😉
- 1/2 cup (110 g) brown sugar, packed
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups (150 g) Only Oats Pure Whole Grain Quick Cook Oats (gluten-free quick cook oats)
- 1/2 cup (50 g) Only Oats Pure Whole Grain Oat Flour (gluten-free oat flour)
- 1/2 cup (60 g) tapioca starch
- 2/3 cup (90 g) chopped pecans
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 g) ground cinnamon
- 8 oz (250 g) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, chopped
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon (.75 g) ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon (.75 g) ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup caramel topping/sauce
- Line a 9x9-inch (22x22 cm) baking pan with parchment paper so that the parchment paper goes up all sides of the pan (this will make it easier to remove and slice the bars). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).
- Beat together 1/2 cup brown sugar and the softened butter until well incorporated. Stir in the quick cook oats, oat flour, tapioca starch, pecans, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon until well incorporated.
- Pat half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking sheet, setting the other half aside for the topping.
- Baking in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, prepare the cheesecake and apple filling.
- In a medium bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. When no lumps remain, beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- Peel, core, and dice the two Granny Smith apples. Place the apple pieces in a bowl, and add 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir until the apples are completely coated with the sugar mixture.
- Remove the crust from the oven and allow to sit for a few minutes before pouring the cheesecake filling evenly over the crust.
- Evenly distribute the apples over the cheesecake filling.
- Top the apples with the remaining crust/topping mixture, pressing it down slightly before baking an additional 40 minutes, or until the filling is set and the topping has browned.
- Refrigerate for at least two hours before slicing and serving with a drizzle of warm caramel sauce. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Other recipes featuring Only Oats products:
Gluten Free Pita Bread
Gluten Free Breading for Fish or Chicken
Gluten Free Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Muffins (or Bread)
Gluten Free Hot Dog or Hamburger Buns
Gluten Free Kitchen Sink Cookies
Disclosure: I received compensation in exchange for my participation in this campaign. The opinions on this blog are my own.
Betty says
I would love to make these but wondered if I could use another flour in place of the oat flour
Tiffany Smith says
I am making them today for a church function. I am out of oat flour. So I am going to use brown rice flour. I will let you know how it goes. Sorghum flour would probably work as well. They are all the same weight of flour.
Jeanine says
Hope you enjoyed them, Tiffany! How did the substitution work? Probably not quite the same, but hopefully close!
Jeanine says
Betty – You could try substituting millet or sorghum, but I haven’t tested the recipe that way. If you do, please let me know how it works!
Judy says
Hi. I love the carrot muffin resipy. But can’t use dairy I have made it with almond milk ,coconut milk , and for some reason they don’t rise. Can you tell me what I can do different. Please help me.
Thanks.
Jud
Jeanine says
Judy, could you please leave a comment on that recipe – then I can help you out there. Thanks!
Kailee says
I made this last weekend and it was amazing! I didn’t have oat flour (though I could have made it out of my oats but didn’t have access to a food processor). I just used a regular GF all purpose flour. I also didn’t have caramel so I just added extra brown sugar to the apples. soooooo yummy! Thank you!!!