ooey, gooey deliciousness

A couple of weeks ago, for a colleague's baby shower, I made one of my favorite desserts - caramel chocolate bars. Or, as that colleague now calls them after hearing what they're made of, the "everything in the pantry" bars. It's a recipe that I took from my mom some years ago...a comfort food and delicious treat that never fails to make me (or my taste buds) happy. Yum. So knowing that the season of baked goods and potlucks is upon us, I thought I'd share...so you can (if you so desire) have some ooey, gooey deliciousness of your own.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups oats (the old-fashioned kind)
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup butter
1/3 cup milk
one bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
one bag (14 oz.) of caramel candies, unwrapped

Cooking:
1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9x13 pan.

2. mix the dry ingredients (flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt) with the egg. add butter until crumbly.

3. press half of the mixture into the bottom of the pan, and bake for 10 minutes.

4. while that's baking, heat the caramels and milk in the microwave and stir until smooth and creamy.

5. after removing the pan from the oven, spread the chocolate chips on top of the baked oat mixture, and pour the caramel over the chocolate chips.

6. spread the remaining oat mixture over the caramel.

7. bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

8. cool for 30 minutes and loosen edges from the sides of the pan.

9. when completely cooled, cut into bars. *

* or you can do what I do...set the pan out with a knife, and let everyone cut their own portion.

I should warn you that a small piece goes a long way...and that this treat can be highly addictive. Regardless, I hope you enjoy.

Where I am: home
What I'm reading: Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour