Oatmeal Caramelitas

Baking Bunny's Note:

My friend made these for a dinner party and they were SO good, I looked up the recipe from a blog and wanted to add it to 'zaar so I had it for safekeeping!

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 16

Yield: 16.0 bars

• 48 caramels (unwrapped)
• 6 tablespoons evaporated milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
• ¾ cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
• ¾ cup butter , melted
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (or semisweet)
• 1 cup pecans (chopped)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13" x 9" x 2" baking pan.
2. In a small saucepan combine the caramels and evaporated milk. Over low heat, gently melt the milk and candy until thoroughly combined and creamy and thick. Stir constantly to avoid scorching. Remove from heat and reserve.
3. For the streusel dough, combine the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Beat in the melted butter at medium speed until a batter like consistency is achieved.
4. Press half the streusel dough into the baking pan and bake for 10 minutes.
5. Drizzle most of the melted caramel over the baked streusel layer, reserving enough to drizzle over the fully assembled bars. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and pecans over the caramel and top with the remaining portion of dough. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and drizzle with remaining caramel, reheating if necessary to soften it up. Refrigerate for a few hours before cutting and serving.