Oatmeal Caramel Apple Pie Bars

Um, hello???  Do I really need to explain how these babies came about?

Okay, if you insist....

Royce and I were up in the mountains all by ourselves for a relaxing weekend, enjoying the peace and quiet. Me being me wanted to do some baking because, well, duh, there wasn't anyone to take care of and who needs to relax anyway!

So into the cupboards I went and this is what I found.....

A bag of oatmeal cookie mix, 1 apple, individual caramel cups for apples, and I always keep butter flavored shortening on hand in case I forget the real butter and need to do some emergency baking.

For those of you who don't have 5th wheels you won't understand just how small the oven is so I'll give you a visual.

It's about as big as a 9 x 13 pan on the inside and if you're baking you need to make sure what you're baking doesn't rise because you have to have the rack up as far as you can so you don't burn the heck out of everything you bake!

Of course I don't let this stop me from pretending I'm home baking in my nice big oven and we just don't eat the very, very bottom of the baked goods, lol.  UNLESS I'm lucky enough not to burn them in this shoe box of an oven!

The recipe that came out of this adventure is one I'll make again and again.....actually I already have.  Three times!

Here's what you need:

1 -17.5 oz. bag Betty Crocker Oatmeal Cookie
1/2 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 egg and enough water to equal 1/4 cup liquid
1 large or 2 small Fuji apples, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbs. flour
1/2 cup caramel apple dip caramel

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 baking pan with parchment and set aside.

In a bowl mix the sliced apples, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour.  Set aside.

 

Place the cookie mix in a bowl and cut in the butter until crumbly.

 

Add the egg & water and mix until it comes together.

 

Press half the dough into the bottom of the pan.

 

I find that if I wet my hands with water it's easier to press into the bottom of the pan.

Place the apple slices in a layer over the bottom crust.

Drop the caramel in dollops over the apple layer and spread out as much as possible.

Crumble the remaining dough over the caramel layer covering as much as possible.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes until golden brown.

Cool to room temperature before cutting into bars.

Serves 12-16 bars

Enjoy!

Here's the handy printable - Oatmeal Caramel Apple Pie Bars