Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Cookie Bars!

Sharing my Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Cookie Bars with you today! They are perfect for Fall and Winter baking. So simple to prepare and packed with goodness!

Cookie bars are so much fun to make. Your options are endless! These bars are packed with sweet tart apples, cream cheese and caramel that make for the perfect sweet treat.

This simple little Fall dessert is gooey and “appley” delicious with warm soft caramel oozing off the sides. Hope you all enjoy!

For other delicious Picky Palate bar recipes try Fruity Pebbles Cookie Bars and Kitchen Sink Cookie Bars.

Be sure to follow Picky Palate on Instagram for sneak peeks on what’s coming next to the blog!

cookie bars

I used a refrigerated sugar cookie crust for this recipe, however you are free to use a homemade sugar cookie recipe if you’d like.

cookie bars

Tips For Softening Cream Cheese

There are many times I find that I don’t have a few hours to set out my cream cheese to soften at room temperature on it’s own. Here are some simple tips to speed up the process when you need softened cream cheese pronto 🙂

Did you know you can soften cream cheese in about 15 seconds? Unwrap your cream cheese and place it onto a microwavable plate. Microwave on high for 15 seconds. If it is not soft, you can microwave it for an additional intervals of 15-20 seconds. Mix it through; it may be a little cooler in the middle but the warmer sides may help it soften evenly and completely in just a minute or so.

You can also chop the cold cream cheese bloc into a few chunks, and then microwave it. This speeds up the process a bit.

cookie bars

cookie bars

cookie bars

Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Cookie Bars

If you love caramel apples and cheesecake, you're going to swoon over these Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Cookie Bars!
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 9 servings
Calories: 408kcal
Author: Jenny
Print Pin

Ingredients

  • 3 Tablespoons melted butter
  • 3 Cups Golden Graham Cereal ground in food processor
  • 1 Roll Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough or 2 pkgs Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Dough Mix prepared and divided into 2 equal parts
  • 8 oz softened cream cheese
  • 1/4 Cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 21 oz can apple pie filling
  • 1.5 oz package Nature Valley Oats N' Honey Crunchy Granola Bars 2 count, crushed (I use a rolling pin to crush them right in the bag before opening)
  • 9.5 oz Kraft Caramels
  • 1/2 Cup half and half

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine melted butter and ground cereal into a large bowl; press into an 8x8 inch baking dish lined with foil that's been sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake for 10 minutes then remove from oven.  Crumble half of the cookie dough over partially baked crust.
  • Place cream cheese, sugar and vanilla into a mixer; beat until smooth.  Pour over crumbled cookie dough layer.  Bake for 25 minutes then remove from over.  Top with 3/4 of the apple pie filling (I chose to just add part, but you can add the whole can if desired).  Next top with remaining cookie dough, breaking off into little pieces evenly over top.  Sprinkle with crushed granola bars and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes clean from center.   Let cool completely then cut into squares.  Melt caramels and half and half according to package directions.  Drizzle over each bar.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Nutrition

Calories: 408kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 293mg | Potassium: 197mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 755IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 132mg | Iron: 2.5mg
Keywords: caramel apple cheesecake bars, cookie bars recipe, cream cheese bars

Pin Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Cookie Bars

cookie bars

Related Posts

101 Responses
  1. Natalie

    These cookie bars look and sound so delicious! I love caramel, apple and cream cheese together!

  2. beauty parlours in chennai|good beauty parlours in chennai|list of beauty parlours in chennai|good beauty parlours in chennai|famous beauty parlours in chennai|beauty parlours in chennai|top beauty parlours in chennai|beauty parlours at chennai|beauty par

    Very good blog post. I certainly love this website. Keep it up!|

  3. Eartha

    Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to mention that
    I’ve truly loved browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing for your rss feed and I hope you write again very soon!

  4. Alex

    I googled for a caramel apple desert to make for my husband on Fathers Day. This is the one I made. It is really delicious and my husband said it was one of the best deserts of all time and that means a lot coming from him! Even my 3 year old son devoured it!

  5. Dana

    These look SO delicious. I tried the printer option to print the recipe, but it won’t print! Any suggestions?

  6. Jealith

    These look yummy! I don’t buy processed foods like cereal or packaged cookie dough but I think I can sub a graham cracker crust and a few home made cookies along with my own home made cookie dough. I do cheat and sometimes buy filling in a can but the caramel sauce I can do home made also. I can’t wait to try and make a from scratch version of the combinations you have, apple, cream cheese and caramel. Thank you! I love getting new ideas from sites like this!

  7. Missy

    Although I too admit these look amazing, why does it seem all the best recipes seem to be from a can? I mean pre-made caramels (can’t get them here), pre-made pie filling (why?? fresh home-made is so much better!), pre-made cookie dough (again, why?? fresh is 100x’s better). I know people’s lives, especially with kids, are very time restricted but a lot of the above can be made before at spare times and frozen. It’s so much better for one then the pre-processed foods that are being called for in a *lot* of recipes now a days 🙁 Besides, we don’t all live in the USA *POUT* I can’t get most of the things!

  8. Cypress Bail Bonds

    Pretty nice post. I simply stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to mention that I’ve really loved surfing around your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing in your feed and I hope you write once more soon!

  9. Lucy

    I made these for thanksgiving and they were a hit! Can’t wait to put my leftover caramel to use. A tip: Even after cooling for an hour, they were still way too gooey to cut. I would recommend sticking them in the fridge for a while – it helped them harden up.

  10. Jennifer

    This just came out of the oven… smells and looks tasty! I did the 2 packages of cookie dough mix and mixed them according to directions and ran into a problem. Once I got to the second package, I couldn’t fit it all in. It was practically running over the top so I left some out. I didn’t want it to expand and crumble off the edges. Could it be that I should have only made one package and split that one up? Or should I have used a 9×13 instead of an 8×8? Also, made homemade caramel for the first time ever without the help of someone showing me how to do it. Turned out perfect! Can’t wait to eat in on Thanksgiving!!!

  11. Kayla

    OMGosh, these sound ahhmazing!!! I love anything apple, caramel, and cream cheese! Totally pinning this for later, thanks for sharing!

  12. brenda

    Sounds so yummy, and perfect for this time of year! I only have one question, do you have any suggestions on a replacement for the golden grahams crust? I want to make these gluten free, and that is the only part I’m unsure of how to substitute. Thanks.

  13. Sugar Mama

    I have had these on my “to make” list since posted a year ago. Finally I am making them today! I just realized the recipe only makes a few, and with a family of 5 and two teenage boys these will be gone in probably a fraction of the time it takes to make them. Maybe I’ll hide them! ;o)

  14. Ted Sahler

    Finally, I found the information I was searching for. I have been doing research on this subject, and for three days I keep entering sites that are supposed to have what I am searching for, only to be disappointed with the lack of what I wanted. I wish I could have located your web-site quicker! I had about 30% of what I was looking for and your site has that, and the rest of what I need to finish my research. Thank you and keep up the good work!

  15. Caroline @SmartyPantsMama

    Wow, my mouth is watering! Sooooo good!
    Thanks for sharing something for my thighs 😉
    Caroline

  16. Jessie

    I just swore aloud when I saw this recipe… totally in a good way. Like a jaw dropping, drooling on my desk kind of way.

Welcome to Picky Palate!

Picky PalateWelcome to my online kitchen! Picky Palate is where you’ll find family friendly recipes along with the best Disney eats, tips and copycat recipes! Read More...

Recipe Categories

Picky Palate Disney Hungry

Never Miss an Update!

Sign up to get easy recipes or Disney tips delivered to your inbox for FREE!