Chocolate Caramel Oatmeal Bars

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.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 37 mins
• Serves: 60

Ingredients

• 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.