Caramel Apple Shortbread Bruschetta is a soft, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread "crostini", smeared with caramel cream cheese and topped with a nutty caramel apple crown.
In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add in flour 1 cup at a time a mix until on low speed a soft dough forms. It should not be crumbly.
Remove dough from bowl and set on top of a piece of floured wax paper. Roll in to a 2-inch diameter log, and wrap tightly in the paper. Refrigerate until firm, 1 to 1½ hours.**
While dough is chilling, prepare apple topping. Combine diced apples, walnuts, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium saucepan, tossing the mixture around until evenly coated.
Add the butter and heat all over medium heat. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unwrap log and slice dough ¼ inch thick. Set slices about 1 inch apart on baking sheets.
Bake 8 to 11 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and caramel topping and mix with a rubber spatula until caramel is incorporated. You can add more caramel here if you'd like!
When cookies have cooled, carefully smear caramel cream cheese on top of each one, and them top with 1-2 Tablespoons of apple topping. Drizzle the top with caramel topping and serve!
Notes
**If you'd rather not chill the dough beforehand, you may also roll it out on a floured surface and use round or shaped cookie cutters to create your cookies. I'm all for instant gratification!
Logs of dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap the wax paper in plastic wrap before freezing, and then just thaw, slice, and bake when ready!