Salted Caramel Apple Bars

IT'S APPLE ORCHARD TIME!

Or at least it will be any minute now. I know one local orchard is opening up for apple picking at the end of the month, which means I will be buried in all of the apples at the end of the month. Mila super likes picking them. I super like finding ways to use them.

Like this.

Salted Caramel Apple Bars

Crust
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Apple Filling
2 large apples, thinly sliced (the peeling thing doesn't seem to matter)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon all ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping
1/2 cup quick oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cold and cubed
Caramel sauce (Recipe here or just use ice cream topping. I'm not judging your decisions in this matter.)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8" pan with foil. Yes, this matters. This stuff sticks, so life is easier if you use foil and can just lift it out.

2. Make the crust. Add the sugar, vanilla, salt, and flour to the melted butter and stir until well combined.

3. Press the crust in the bottom of your pan.

4. Bake for 10 minutes, or however long it takes for you to make the other parts of this masterpiece. (Yes, this is a variance from the original recipe. I accidentally learned that it doesn't matter if you use a bit higher temperature, so I'm rolling with it.)

5. While the crust is baking, toss the sliced apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl until the apples are well-coated. Set aside.

6. Make the streudel topping stuff by combining the oats, sugar, cinammon, flour, and butter in a large bowl. The butter needs to stay a little chunky, so mesh the ingredients together using your hands.

7. Layer the apples on top of the cooked crust. Press them down until they're nice and level.

8. Layer the streusel on top of the apples.

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the streusel looks slightly browned.

10. Allow the apple goodness to cool thoroughly before drizzling caramel over top.

11. Enjoy!