Gooey Caramel Chocolate Chip Cake Bars

Gooey Caramel Chocolate Chip Cake Bars. Say that five times fast!!! It’s a mouthful… and it is certainly Heaven in your mouth, too! If someone asked me what my favorite dessert of all time was, I wouldn’t even hesitate. THIS!! This is the best, folks!!

This dessert is a spin off of a caramel oatmeal bar that I made years ago for my husband when he was deployed. I’d send dozens of individually wrapped bars at a time that he would share with his soldiers and they’d request them over and over and over again… and considering that it took mail about 2 weeks to get delivered in Iraq (from where we were stationed in Germany), I was baking these bars on a monthly basis. Needless to say, I tired of caramel and oatmeal quickly after that 10 month tour overseas so I knew I had to switch it up. The next time I dared try to make a caramel bar I threw in chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and my favorite candy bar – Heath! Oh. My. Goodness. I had hit the jackpot!!

If you like caramel, try this! If you like chocolate chip cookie dough, you should definitely try this! If you like ooey gooey dessert bars, you HAVE to try this!!! These are the ingredients you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 32 Kraft® caramels (1 bag)
• 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk (1 can)
• 1 box Betty Crocker® yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups Nestle® Toll House® miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup Nestle® Toll House® white chocolate chips
• 1 Heath® candy bar, chopped

Step 1) Over medium-low heat, combine the butter, caramels, and condensed milk until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool.

Step 2) In a mixing bowl, beat together the cake mix, oil, and eggs. Then stir in the semisweet and white chocolate chips and chopped Heath bar.

Step 3) Remove 1/4 of the chocolatey chippy dough mixture and set aside. Press the remaining 3/4 of the dough into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. Remove from oven and let cool at least 10-15 minutes.

Step 4) Pour the caramel and condensed milk mixture on top of your partially baked dough. Then take the reserved 1/4 of the chocolate chip dough and drop spoonfuls on top of the caramel layer. Bake for another 25-30 minutes.

Step 5) Once the edges are golden brown, remove from the oven. Cool for 10 minutes, run a knife around the edges of the pan, then cool for another 45 minutes.

Step 6) Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Because this dessert takes a little planning to give the bars time to chill, this is the perfect treat to make ahead of time before a nice family dinner or friendly get together. My family prefers them cold straight out of the fridge, but I know a few people that prefer to warm it in the microwave for a few seconds before eating it. It’s DELISH either way. I mean, seriously. Caramel. Chocolate. Cake. How can you go wrong!?

Give this a shot and make sure to let me know what you think! Make sure you have a cold glass of milk to go with it!

For more scrumpdillumptious recipes, follow me at MyMilitarySavings.com!!