Oatmeal Caramel Chocolate Bars

Here's a hint for you: don't make these bars the same week you have to go on vacation and wear a swimsuit every day. You won't be able to stop eating them. That should have been self-evident to me looking at the title, but I went ahead and made them anyway. And I ate way too many. And I enjoyed every minute of it.

I slightly modified this recipe from Mel. She has a great cooking website! You should go see her and get inspired. If I made everything she has posted, I would never wear a swimsuit again!

These bars have a different texture at room temperature than when refrigerated. I liked them equally both ways (suprise, surprise)!

Let's get started! Combine the flour, oats, salt, baking soda and brown sugar in a medium mixing bowl.



Add the melted butter,



and stir well until the dry ingredients are all moistened. Press half of this crust into a 9x13 pan.



Bake this for about 10-12 minutes or until golden - it will smell amazing!

While the crust bakes, combine the caramels and half and half in a small saucepan,



and cook over low heat, stirring often, until smooth. Remove the crust from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top,



then pour the caramel mixture over the chocolate chips.



Crumble the remaining "crust" mixture over the top of the caramel,



and return to the oven to bake an additional 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and caramel is bubbly. Cool completely before cutting.

You can store these in the fridge or at room temperature, and they freeze really well too! (I didn't get all of them eaten before my vacation so I froze some and have now handily eaten them.)

Get more ideas at Cooking Thursday, Krazy Kitchen, Foodie Friday, Friday Food, Food on Fridays and Would you like chocolate with that?, Ingredient Spotlight.

Oatmeal Caramel Chocolate Bars

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups oats
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter, melted
1 - 14 oz. bag of caramels
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Combine the flour, oats, salt, baking soda and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and stir well to coat all the dry ingredients. Press half of this mixture onto the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, until lightly brown.

Meanwhile, melt the caramels and half and half in a saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until smotth. Remove crust from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips and then pour caramel mixture over the top. Sprinkle the remaining crust over the caramel and return to the oven.

Bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, until the caramel is bubbling and the edges are lightly brown. Cool the bars completely before cutting. Makes 30 bars.