Oatmeal Chocolate Caramel Bars
Who doesn’t love a perfectly sweet and salty dessert? These simple yet decadent oatmeal chocolate caramel bars are just that and more.
Sweet.
Chewy.
Slightly salty.
Covered in buttery oats.
So yummy I could eat the whole pan.
Studded with chocolate.
Texturely perfect.
Decadent.
Simple.
One Year Ago: Lemon Cream Pasta with Chicken
Two Years Ago: Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from my friend Judy C.
Oatmeal Chocolate Caramel Bars
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (213 g) flour
- 1 ½ cups (150 g) old-fashioned oats
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) brown sugar
- 1 cup (227 g) melted butter
- 1 (14-ounce) bag (397 g) of caramels
- ½ cup whipping cream or milk
- 1 (12-ounce) package (340 g) semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degree. Mix the first six ingredients together and sprinkle half on the bottom of a 9X13-inch baking pan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned.
- Meanwhile, melt the caramels and whipping cream or milk in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave at 50% power, stirring often, until the mixture is smooth.
- When the bars have been removed from the oven, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the crust and pour the melted caramel over the top. Sprinkle the rest of the crust over the top and bake in the oven for an additional 10-12 minutes, until the caramel is bubbling and edges are lightly browned.
- Cool the bars completely before serving so they can set up properly.
Serving: 1 Bar, Calories: 330kcal, Carbohydrates: 43g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 29mg, Sodium: 163mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 29g
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I was excited to have a new cookie bar; but these are SO greasy. I double checked my measurements and did follow the recipe exactly. The butter coats your fingers and mouth as you eat them so much so that it’s all you taste.
Holy moly these are incredible. It’s like every bite is a just-warmed piece of dessert because the caramel keeps them soft and melty. Wow. I gave up sweets two months ago, and recently added back 1-2 treats per week. The question for today is – just how many of these will constitute my “treat”?? I can only make desserts when I am planning to take them with a meal to someone or give them to friends, or else it’s torture. After eating one of these, I had to pack pretty much all of the rest up for friends! Thanks for a delicious and EASY recipe!
These bars are fantastic. My family absolutely loves them and they are so easy to make. They have become a favourite in our house and I agree are a nice change from chocolate chip cookies.
So good. I do find though that they are a little sweet. I used less chips and used the mini semi sweet chips instead. The butter in these bars make them addictive. They have become a treat selection in our house and is a nice change from the good ole chocolate chip cookie.
Making these right now! Thanks!
funny story. I made these (so yum) and took some to our new friends from church and it turns out that it is your cousin Ryan Weaver! Small world.=)
Beware, these bars are so tasty they are dangerous! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Ridiculously simple and ridiculously delicious! The hardest part is unwrapping all those carmels! Absolute make again. Thanks Mel!
In the perfect world I would have followed the directions perfectly and not baked the WHOLE crust instead of just half of it, giving me the opportunity to mix all of the yummy goodness into a witch’s brew of sorts. However it is still delicious and my addition to this goodness is 1/2 milk chocolate (I just don’t believe semi-sweet chocolate belongs in the kitchen, since I don’t find it edible) and 1/2 white chocolate chips. I also used homemade caramel since I had some conveniently in my fridge from a batch of caramel corn this week. By mixing it after baking it halfway made it so gooey and sticky that you get to suck it off your fingers. Mel, not gonna lie, your way is probably much cleaner! Thanks!
Wow! You weren’t lying!! these little beauties were a hit at a get together we had last night. Everyone flocked to these like white on rice! Thanks for sharing!
FABULOUS!!! Major hit with all- thanks!!!!!!!
This Valentine’s Day I wanted a new dessert to send w/ my husband to work (been making the same thing for a few years) so I searched your blog for “caramel” (his favorite). So excited to find these bars & OF COURSE I taste-tested them before getting them ready to send w/ him this morning – FABULOUS!!! Thanks!!
Seriously, I have made these twice this month and they are SO good! I would have the kids unwrap the caramels…but I’m not sure how many would be left for the bars! Thanks so much for sharing your amazing recipes!
I brought two pans of these to my nephew’s farewell today. Every piece was gobbled up! They are SO good, especially the corner pieces with loads of chewy caramel. Such an easy recipe, except unwrapping all those pesky caramels;) I wondered if the caramel and cream would ever come together and be smooth, but they did and I’m SO glad I used the cream.
Love it!
These were so delicious. I made them for our 4th of July BBQ and they were a huge hit. I’ve heard comments since then about my “insanely bad for you caramel bars”. Thank you for making me popular! Next time I will cut the chocolate chips A LITTLE. Just to enhance the caramel flavor and the saltiness you get from the oatmeal.
Sara – I laughed at the new name your friends gave to these bars. I’m thrilled they were a hit!
I made these last night for a work pot luck. They were super easy to make, I used milk instead of whipping cream and they turned out delish. Next time I will add some chopped pecans to the chocolate chip and caramel layers to cut the sweetness a bit. Definitely a hit!
Ashley – I’m glad the milk worked as well as the cream and I think the chopped pecans addition would be delicious!
Angie Datin – I do that all the time – the whole sending-the-treats-to-work-with-my-husband. But it doesn’t keep me from eating more than my share anyway! I’m so glad these were a hit. Thanks for your comment! I’m glad you’ve had success with other recipes…
I made these for FHE last night. Oh so good! I had to send most of the pan to work with my husband so I wouldn’t eat the whole thing before lunch today. Yum, Yum, Yum. I will keep this recipe forever!
By the way, thanks to you, we now have good new recipes at least once a week. Before, I would try new things all the time, but I would be unimpressed half the time. Now, I know if I use something from your blog, I will LOVE it! Thanks for doing this.
Sara – glad you liked these! I’m on my way to check out your blog!
oops, posted the wrong blog name on the comment above – Mel, you can delete comment 50 – this one is correct! Loved these bars and posted them on my blog today with a link back here.