Caramel-Apple Nut Bars

In the spirit of autumn quickly approaching, I am adding two apple recipes. (I mentioned earlier that my family has a boat-load of apples right now, so I've found a couple of recipes to use some of them up..along with the apple pie recipe previously posted).

This first apple recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens. I altered a few things, however...I used about double the amount of apples it called for, and I think it still could have used more! The moist, caramelly-apples were the best part, so feel free to load the apple layer up! PS- I thought these even tasted better the next day

Ingredients:

2 c all-purpose flour

2 c quick-cooking oats

1 1/2 c packed brown sugar (I used half b.sugar, half splenda brown sugar)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 c butter (This is a LOT of butter..I only used half! The bars were a bit crumbly, but I enjoyed them w/less butter, so feel free to experiment)

1/2 c caramel topping (used sugar free caramel topping--picture below)

3 T flour

1 c apples, chopped (**Use @ least 3 cups! The more the better in my opinion)

1/2 c coarsely chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease 13x9 pan

2. In large bowl, beat 2 c flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, butter with a mixer on low until crumbly.

3. Press about 3 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the greased pan. (I pressed it firmly with the bottom of a measuring cup). Bake 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix caramel topping and 3 T flour.

5. Sprinkle apple and pecans over partially baked crust.

6. Drizzle with caramel mixture.

7. Sprinkle with remaining crust mixture.

8. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Cut/serve.

Nutrit Info: This info was from the original recipe, so if using the alterations I used, they will be lower in calories/fat...

1 bar: Calories-160, fat-8g, carbohydrates-21g, sodium- 130mg