Candy Apple Dump Cake {Fall Recipe}

This candy apple dump cake is perfect for last-minute desserts that bake while you’re eating dinner or for potlucks with friends and family.

Candy Apple Dump Cake

One of my favorite fall pastimes to do before Halloween is apple picking with the family. Something about the cool crisp air, the delicious juicy apples right off the tree, and the smiles on my kids faces when they pick that first apple off.

But it doesn’t end at the orchard! Then you get to go home and bake yummy goodies with all the apples you managed not to eat on the drive back home.

When deciding what to bake with the apples we picked in Boston on our trip back a few years ago I knew I wanted to incorporate Halloween and the fun of the season. Since I had just recently stopped by Smart and Final for our Halloween candy stash I decided to incorporate the delicious Nestle goodies I picked up in this Candy Apple Dump Cake.

Candy Apple Dump Cake Nestle Candy

Once I got home it was time to start baking. Now, this candy apple dump cake is literally what the name alludes to. Chopped up candy, apples, cake, and butter all dumped into the pan, stirred up, and baked! So simple yet so delicious.

Since I purchased a few extra bags of candy to bake with I decided to chop up my favorite Nestle crunch bars and Nestle chocolate bars to add to the mix. The combo of the apples and chocolate reminded me of our favorite candy apples.

And the kids had a great time unwrapping the chocolate (one for you, one for me…).

Candy Apple Dump Cake ingredients

Candy Apple Dump Cake

  • 3 apples, 2 diced & 1 grated
  • 1 cup Nestle chocolate, diced (I used Nestle Crunch and Nestle chocolate bars)
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 package cake mix
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Add apples and chocolate to a 9×9 pan. Sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice. Pour cake mix over apples. Drizzle melted butter over mixture.

Stir ingredients in the pan and smooth top.

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Candy Apple Dump Cake baked

Add a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of melted Nestle Crunch bar for an added bonus!

How easy is that? Perfect for last-minute desserts that bake while you’re eating dinner or for potlucks with friends and family. And you can make this with just about any fruit! So depending on the season, pick out your favorite fruit and enjoy.

Candy Apple Dump Cake close up

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Deliciously Tempting Candy Apple Bars with M&M’s

 These deliciously tempting candy apple bars with M&M’s are the perfect sweet treat to use up all of those apples you picked this season!  

Candy Apple Bars with M&M's - the perfect way to welcome fall and enjoy a delicious dessert

Oh my gosh you guys. I’m seriously melting right now and wondering where the heck fall is. Over 100 degrees today and the forecast does not look good over the next week. Oh, how I yearn for the cool crisp 75-degree air of fall.

With pregnancy cravings that have me wanting apple pie, hearty stews, and other fall recipes I can’t help but give into temptation and bake up a delicious treat for the family even when it’s a sauna inside and outside of the house. Did I mention we have no a/c in the new house? Yeah…

After finding some delicious Candy Apple M&M’s on our most recent trip to Walmart I was inspired to make these delicious candy apple bars that are part apple pie, part candy apple. 

Candy Apple Bars with M&M's ingredients

I made sure to gather most of the ingredients we needed and have it all pre-measured because another crazy girl in the house wanted to help mama out even in this heat.

I’ve found that when cooking or baking with kids a little prep work goes a long way. And makes things go a little smoother. And this recipe couldn’t be easier to make with kids. No mixer needed, no special measuring or ingredients. Easy peasy!

Candy Apple Bars with M&M's mixing

We mixed together the oat mixture and reserved a bit for the topping. The rest we mixed with some delicious applesauce 

Once the applesauce oat mixture was ready I let my daughter spread it on the bottom of our 9×13 pan while I tossed the apples in some flour.

Candy Apple Bars with M&M's spreading applesauce oat mixture

Next was my daughter’s favorite part. After I put a layer of apples down she was in charge of adding the Candy Apple M&M’s on top of the apples. Now normally I use a layer of caramel here for caramel apple bars but we wanted some chocolatey candy goodness.

Candy Apple Bars with M&M's adding apples and M&M's

Once she was done I spread the reserved oat mixture over everything and had her help push it down gently. Then we baked up this scrumptious dessert and enjoyed a little kiddy pool fun to cool down.

By dinnertime, these were perfectly cooled and ready to enjoy for our dessert. Boy, was this a good treat to end our hot day. Now let’s bring on some cooler temperatures!

Candy Apple Bars with M&M's ready to bake

Candy Apple Bars with M&M's

For the candy apple bars

  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter (softened)
  • 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 3 peeled fuji apples (finely diced)
  • 1 granny smith apple (grated)
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cup Candy Apple M&M's

For the drizzle

  • 1 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
  • 3 tablespoons apple juice
  1. Heat oven to 400ºF. Mix brown sugar, butter and shortening in large bowl. Stir in 1 3/4 cups flour, the oats, salt and baking soda. Reserve 2 cups oat mixture. Mix remaining oat mixture with applesauce and spread on the bottom of an un-greased 13×9 pan.
  2. Toss apples and 3 tablespoons flour; spread over mixture in pan. Spread Candy Apple M&M’s evenly over apples. Sprinkle with reserved oat mixture; press lightly.
  3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender.
  4. While bars are baking, mix together powdered sugar and apple juice and set aside. Once bars are done, let cool before drizzling with icing and enjoy!



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Candy Apple Bars with M&M's

What’s your favorite fall-inspired dish?

*This post was originally featured on September 14t, 2014. 



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