🍫 Chocolate Caramel Oat Bars
Ingredients
For the crust & crumble:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
Caramel layer:
- 1 bag (11–14 oz) soft caramels
- ½ cup heavy cream
Chocolate layer:
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup milk chocolate chips
- 1–2 tbsp peanut butter, optional, for the swirled finish
👩🍳 Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- Mix flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir in melted butter until crumbly.
- Press about ⅔ of the mixture firmly into the bottom of the dish.
- Bake for 10–12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the caramels with heavy cream over low heat, stirring until smooth.
- Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the warm crust, then pour the caramel mixture evenly over them.
- Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the top.
- Bake another 18–22 minutes, until lightly golden.
- For the pretty chocolate finish shown in the photo, melt a little chocolate and peanut butter together and swirl it across the top with a knife.
- Cool completely—preferably 1–2 hours in the refrigerator—before cutting.
Tip: Let them cool fully before slicing so the caramel sets into that delicious, chewy layer. 🤎🍫