I'm Going a New Way

The post title is for the enjoyment of my children...well, all except my youngest. Hey DB, don't feel picked on, you know that's one of our favorite stories!
I took the basic concept of the lemon crumb bars and twisted it around (I went a new way with it). Successfully, I might add! And, as a bonus, they were even better the next day! I kept the same idea of starting with a cake mix and a stick-o-butter, but knew I wanted way less cracker crumbs. Then I needed to come up with something in the middle, and top it off with more crumb mixture. Here's what I came up with. I'm calling them...



Spicy Caramel Apple Bars.

1 pkg. spice cake
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
3/4 cup saltine crackers, finely crushed
(about 1/2 stack)
1 jar caramel topping (I used Smuckers)
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Blend together the cake mix, butter and egg. Add crackers and mix together. Reserve 1 cup of mixture and press the remaining cake mixture into a greased 13x9 baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and pour the caramel sauce evenly over the cake base. Add the apples, and top with reserved crumb mixture. Bake an additional 20 minutes. The bars will set up as they cool.

I'm thinking that the next time (yes, there will be a next time) I might try to thicken the caramel sauce a bit, but even as is, it was very tasty. Or, perhaps keeping them in the refrigerator would do the trick just as well.