It’s funny I’m posting a dessert today since I’m also recording a podcast about sugar and how it’s the devil. But before you listen to that podcast, just eat these. Because they are damn delicious! And guess what? I filmed a quick little tutorial video for you, just for fun! It’s the first time I’ve done it and I plan to do more once I get an attachment for my tripod, but hopefully you love this one in the meantime! And it totally has holiday music, so don’t forget to turn up your volume! Check out the video below the recipe and get in the holiday spirit!
So you guys, I don’t remember if I told you about this already, so apologies if I did. But in my old age of 28 years, I remember nothing. Literally nothing. I need to play brain games or something. But what I do remember is that my friend Vanessa from Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind invited me on a yacht trip in August through the Caribbean. Some of her friends backed out so she asked if my husband and I wanted to join. What did I say? HELL EFFING YES! When the hell else am I going to get to go on an all inclusive yacht trip? Answer: never. So I told my husband (which by the way, this is his dream vacation) and he said the 9 days was too long to take off work. So you know what I’m gonna do? Book the trip, and if he can’t go, I’m taking someone else. There’s just no way I can say no to this trip. I’ve been putting money away for over a year now specifically for vacations and there’s no way I’m saying no. There’s just no way. But in the meantime, I’ll be planting the seed until he gives in and goes.
That’s what I did with french bulldogs. And what do I have now?
Jackson, duh.
With having no children, there’s no better time to live up vacations as much as possible. We’ll never get this time back in our marriage and I’m not letting this opportunity slip by. Who’s with me!?
Caramel Apple Pie Cookies Bars
- Yield: 10 bars 1x
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1½ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon tapioca flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons ghee
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the caramel
- Use the recipe for Vanilla Bean Caramel Sauce in Juli Bauer’s Paleo Cookbook
For the apples
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 2 apples, cored and diced (make sure they are diced small for more enjoyable bites)
- 2 teaspoons Primal Palate Apple Pie Spice
- 1 tablespoon caramel sauce
For garnish
- organic powdered sugar (optional)
- mint leaves (optional)
Instructions
How To Make Caramel Apple Pie Cookie Bars
- Prepare the Crust: Blend ingredients, press into pan, bake for 18-20 minutes.
- Make the Caramel Sauce: Melt sugar, mix with butter and cream, cool.
- Cook the Apples: Sauté apples with ghee, spice, and caramel until soft.
- Assemble and Bake: Layer caramel and apples on crust, bake for 15 minutes.
- Cool and Serve: Let cool, garnish with powdered sugar and mint leaves, slice and serve.
Make the crust(Step 1)
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a rectangle quiche pan. Add all ingredients for the crust into a food processor and pulse until completely combine. The dough should combine into a slight ball once combine. Put dough in a pan and use your fingers to press dough around evenly throughout the pan, pressing the dough higher on the sides to create a boat for the caramel to go later. Poke holes with a fork in the dough to keep it from rising in the oven
- Bake crust for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove then let crust cool for about 10-20 minutes.
Make the caramel sauce then set aside to cool(Step 2)
1. Melt sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, then stir in butter and slowly add heavy cream, cooking until thickened.
2. Remove from heat and let the caramel sauce cool before using.
Make the apples(Step 3)
- While caramel is cooling, place a large saute pan over medium heat. Add ghee, diced apples, apple pie spice and caramel and let cook and soften for about 10-15 minutes, tossing every couple minutes, until soft and brown.
To make the cookie bars(Step 4)
- Use a large spoon to scoop about 1/4-1/3 cup of the caramel sauce in the middle of the crust. Then scoop all the apples onto the caramel crust and use a spoon the add a bit more caramel on top. Place in oven to bake for 15 minutes.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from quiche pan, garnish with powdered sugar and mint leaves then slice before serving.*
Notes
*These bars can be a little messy so feel free to set in the fridge for about 30 minutes before slicing, but that just depends if you want to get your hands dirty or not! It’s up to you!
Quick Holiday Video:
_____________
More Holiday Treat Ideas:
Holiday Raspberry Caramel Tart
______________
Click Here To Get All My PaleOMG Recipes Into Your Meal Planner With Real Plans!
I may be compensated through my affiliate links in this post, but all opinions are my own. This compensation helps with expenses to keep this blog up and running! Thank you for your support with PaleOMG!
Holy crap those bars look amazing and I don’t even eat paleo. I’m here for the fashion, fitness, and giggles 🙂
CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT MEN for a moment. Why is their immediate reaction to a VACATION “No”??? Ok, maybe your hubby really can’t because of his job. But my husband literally always has some work reason why he can’t go and it drives me crazy. He would much rather do a stay-cation than go on an adventure. Its the one thing in which we are incompatible. Its like, dude you’re missing all these awesome opportunities and I shouldn’t have to convince you to take a vacation?
If someone asked me, “Hey Christina, wanna go to…[insert anywhere here]” I would literally cut them off before they’re done and have my ticket booked. Maybe that says more about me than hubby haha….
i’m the exact same way! what’s the point in working so hard if you aren’t going to do something fun with the money you made!? i work hard so i can do cool sh*t, not sit around at home! i’m all about the “say yes” to any vacation!
It’s not a vacation, It’s an adventure! I love leaving the country as much as possible (usually at least 1 big trip a year) how else are you going to see the world. Wander lust is real!
I wonder if your yacht adventure is like “Below deck”? Totes Jelly!
I LOVE the video!!!! the music is so triumphant!!!
I am SOOOOOO Excited for this recipe! My husband is All about apple pie anything! He never wants a birthday cake, he always gets apple pie, I made your Apple Pie Tartlets were his birthday treat this year!
These are going on the Christmas menu!
Love the video!!!
<3 Cassie
Love the little video. And your cutting board is so cool!
Men. Why don’t they realize they need to invest in their wives too?! I hope it works out, and that he goes. You would have a blast 🙂 (Well, you will regardless, because you’ll find a replacement! haha)
This is so off topic but I was not sure where to leave this comment…I LOVE personal blogs, so I look at a lot of them. That being said yours is by far the BEST! The most organized, beautiful and most importantly easy to navigate! I just love it, so thank you for putting so much effort into it, us readers appreciate that!
awwww thank you so much, erica!! i really appreciate that feedback!! xoxo!
YES! SO MUCH YES!!! please do MORE cooking videos like this! LOVE LOVE LOVE love.
thanks, lisa!!
I had some friends do a similar vacation recently, and it seemed like so much fun! All the benefits of a cruise but more adventuresome! If your hubby can’t do all 9 days, you could maybe just try to find a convenient port with airport access at some point during the trip and he can either leave early or fly later. Would be worth looking into the itinerary to see if that’s possible! But definitely agree that you should go either way. There was an INCREDIBLE sale to pretty much anyway in Europe from pretty much anywhere in the USA just a couple weeks ago, and my fiance needs some convincing to travel sometimes, but the deals were so good that I had told myself even if he wasn’t interested, I’d book a solo trip! At least this way you’d still get to chill with your friends!
i love that idea, i’ll definitely have to check out some ports and see if that’s possible!
Girl!! Look at you teaching yourself new things! The video was awesome. Super cute! 🙂
Loved the new video! Also, I listen to your podcast every week and I think it is great! The topics are interesting (even for non-bloggers like myself) and I’m thoroughly entertained. Keep up the great work Julie!
yay!! thanks mackenzie!