Grab a bushel basket and your boots and head to one of our fabulous local apple orchards! Because there’s no sweeter way to celebrate the arrival of fall than by picking your own apples, sipping on some cider, and enjoying a freshly baked apple treat. By the way, I’ve heard the apple fritters at MacQueen Orchards are divine…

Once home, put your hard work to good use and bake up a scrumptious, sweet-tart dessert such as Salted Caramel Apple Crumb Bars. Serve them warm or cold, with or without vanilla ice cream – they will make everyone smile.

Salted Caramel Apple Crumb Bars
Crust, apple and crumb layers make these autumn dessert bars a triple delight – all drizzled with salted caramel sauce. Recipe makes 18 bars.

Crust
2 cups flour
2/3 cup light brown sugar
¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

Apple Filling
4 large apples
¼ cup flour
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Crumb Topping
2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup flour
1/3 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
Salted Caramel Sauce

Heat oven to 350 F. Coat a 9 x 11 dish with baking spray.

Make the crust: In the bowl of a food processor, add flour, brown sugar and butter. Pulse until mixture becomes a crumbly dough.

Spread dough evenly into baking dish, pressing down gently with fingers. Bake 15 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.

Prepare apple filling: Core, peel and dice apples. Combine apples with flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Prepare crumb topping: In a medium mixing bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Add in cubed butter and mix with hands until coarse crumbs form.

When the crust has finished baking, top with apple mixture. Then sprinkle evenly with crumb topping.

Bake for 35 minutes or until topping is lightly browned. Allow to cool then drizzle with salted caramel sauce.