Caramel Apple Crumb Bars

Ingredients

• For caramel:
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• For apple layer:
• 5 cups apple slices from about 4 large Granny Smith apples
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• For crust and crumble:
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 16 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

1. Make the caramel: Gather everything for the caramel before you begin and set it near the saucepan. Add the sugar to a large, heavy saucepan set over medium high heat. When the sugar starts to liquefy, begin stirring with a spoon. Continue stirring from time to time until it has fully melted and turned light golden. Carefully stream in the heavy cream; the mixture will steam right away and the sugar will clump. Reduce the heat to medium and stir constantly until the caramel melts smooth again, about 5 minutes. Mix in the butter, vanilla, and salt, stirring until the butter is fully melted. Remove the pan from the heat and set the caramel aside until it is nearly room temperature.
2. As the caramel cools, make the apple layer: In a large bowl, toss the apples with the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg until evenly combined. Leave the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Make the crust and crumble: Move the oven rack to the center position and heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Fit foil into the baking dish, then butter the foil.
4. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 5 times to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the pieces are pea-sized. Add the egg and heavy cream, then pulse until the mixture looks like damp sand and sticks together when you pinch it.
5. Press 3/4 of the shortbread dough into the prepared baking sheet, forming a bottom layer about 1/2-inch thick. Lift the apples from the bowl with a slotted spoon and spread them evenly over the shortbread. Pour the caramel sauce over the apples, warming it gently over low heat if it has thickened too much to spread. Break the remaining shortbread into crumbs with your fingers and scatter them over the top.
6. Bake the bars until the surface is golden and the filling is bubbling, about 50 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.