Chocolate Caramel Apple Crumb Bars

These dessert bars have a buttery crust and crumble on top, a gooey cinnamon-sugar apple filling, with caramels, chocolate chips, and sea salt sprinkled on top.

**This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of KitchenAid. All opinions and text are mine.

With summer coming to a close and kids back in school, it makes me feel ready for fall flavors and all things apple! It’s one of my favorite fruits to bake with, so naturally, I had to share this new recipe with you!

I bet that when you think of apples, you think of complimentary flavors like cinnamon, and maybe even caramel, but have you tried chocolate with your apple desserts? I’ll tell you what… it’s pretty much amazing!

This dessert has apples, cinnamon, caramel, chocolate and even a bit of sea salt for the perfect touch!

I created this dish as an entry for the KitchenAid Apple Challenge. Food Network Kitchens will select the top 4 recipe submissions. The 4 finalists will win a trip for 2 to NYC to push their limits in a live cook-off to cook their dish to be judged by Food Network Chef Geoffrey Zakarian. How cool would that be?!

Competitions make me nervous, but the winner will receive the grand prize of a suite of KitchenAid Black Stainless Steel Appliances and a private cooking lesson with Geoffrey Zakarian. Seriously! Have you ever seen black stainless steel? It’s gorgeous! And the fridge has 5 doors! I need that in my kitchen. Plus a private cooking lesson from a famous chef, is just extraordinary!

To enter the contest, you just submit a photo and description of your best apple dish, sweet or savory.

Submissions can be uploaded through Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #KitchenAidContest, or through these two links: FoodNetwork.com/applechallenge or food.com/applechallenge

The contest runs from 8/17/15 – 9/14/15. Game on my friends! Meanwhile, you can try my apple dessert as inspiration. Here’s how you make it: (The complete recipe is at the bottom of this post.)

Peel and dice up 4 to 5 Granny Smith Apples (about 4 to 5 cups diced).

Toss the apples in 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp cornstarch, 2 tsp cinnamon, and 3 Tbsp lemon juice. Let macerate (release juices) for 5 minutes.

Melt 6 Tbsp of butter in a large sauté pan, add apples and cook for 10 minutes or until desired softness.

While the apples cook, prepare the crust.

Using the paddle attachment fitted on a KitchenAid mixer, stir up 3 cups of flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt.

Add 1 cup (2 sticks) of cold butter one Tablespoon at a time, while the mixer is running, until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

Add 1 egg and mix until the dough comes together, in large crumbs.

Remove bowl and paddle from the KitchenAid mixer.

Press 2/3 of the crust onto the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.

I like to use the bottom of a measuring cup to press it flat and into the corners.

Spread the cooked apples on top of the crust.

Sprinkle with the remaining crumb dough.

Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden on top.

Meanwhile, cut up 24 soft caramels into fourths, and measure 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, and 1 tsp sea salt.

Once the crust is golden, sprinkle the cut-up caramels and chocolate chips on top.

Return to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes more until the chocolate and caramels are melty.

Remove the pan from the oven and immediately sprinkle with sea salt.

Allow to cool slightly before cutting and consuming.

From the first-ever black stainless steel to the first-ever five-door refrigerator, KitchenAid pushes the limits with our appliances, so our home cooks can do the same with their cooking. See the revolutionary new line of KitchenAid appliances or visit the Kitchenthusiast™ blog for recipes, tips and more.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of KitchenAid. The opinions and text are all mine.