Chocolate Caramel Oatmeal Bars

megnbrycesmom's Note:

These are to die for! Now that I've got nut allergies to deal with in my household, I make these without the nuts and with extra crumb mixture (1 1/2 times the crumb mix), but the nuts are really good to cut the sweetness. The recipe is originally from a land-o-lakes pamphlet. Part of prep time is cool time.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 37 mins
• Prep Time: 2 hrs 5 mins
• Cook Time: 32 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 60

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 (14 ounce) package caramels, unwrapped (48 caramels)
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
• 1 cup chopped pecans, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine all crumb ingredients in a large bowl, stopping after adding the salt. Beat at medium speed until mixture is crumbly (about 3 minutes). Reserve 1 cup of crumb mixture.
3. Press remaining crumb mixture into bottom of a 13x9 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
4. Combine milk and caramels in a saucepan. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is creamy.
5. Sprinkle partially baked crust with 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped pecans.
6. Pour caramel mixture evenly over chips and nuts. Sprinkle evenly with reserved crumb mixture and pat lightly.
7. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until caramel is bubbly around the edges.
8. Cool completely. Melt the remaining cup of chocolate chips and spread over the top. Sprinkle with remaining nuts and pat lightly.
9. When chocolate hardens, cut into bars.

Reviews

[RachelB-KY]

These were amazing! But, of course, I did make a few changes. I used an 8x11 pan so they would be thicker. And I added 1/2c of white chocolate chips to the melted layer of chocolate chips. I also didn't add the top layer of chocolate they were already rich enough with 1 1/2c of chips. I completely omitted the nuts because I hate them. Will make again...Thank you for a wonderful recipe!

[LuuvBunny]

These are delicious!I had caramels left over from Halloween so this is where they went.I only made one layer of the nuts/chocolate combo,just doubled them up.Then I had the reserved crumb mixture for the top.I added a tsp of vanilla to the caramel/milk mixture.I may use a 7 x 11 pan next time for a higher bar as opposed to a flat one that this recipe makes.

[Charlotte J]

YUMMY! Do cut these into small portions as they are rich. I think I'll refrigerate these before I cut them next time so they are firmer. I'll be making these again. Made for the *Recipe Swap 14* game 2008 in the Aussie/NZ forum. Our group was *The Kumara Kids* Group 28