Oatmeal Bars

These bars have four layers...an oatmeal shortbread crust, chocolate, caramel, and topped off with another layer of oatmeal shortbread mix that results in a crumbly topping. These are melt-in-your-mouth divine. So divine in fact that I was tempted to eat one for breakfast one morning. After all, it did have oats in it but I refrained. Only until lunch.


Korey and I recently attended a gathering of his friends that was potluck-style.  I brought lasagna.  Well, really Korey did because he made it from start to finish.  It's his specialty.

The true food winner, in my mind...er mouth, was the dessert made by our hostess.  It was a bar layered with oats, caramel and chocolate.  I love bar desserts.  I knew I had to make these soon! 

The next weekend I dug through my recipe box and found a similar recipe I had stashed away and had been wanting to try.  It just so happened that it resembled what I had tasted the previous weekend.

I'm so glad that I split half of the pan with my parents because who knows how many we would have eaten in just a short time.

Oatmeal Bars

(click for printable)

1 pkg caramel bits (in baking aisle)
1/2 cup milk
2 cups oats
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks of butter, cut into pieces
1 pkg chocolate chips

Melt caramels and milk in pan over low heat for 5 min stirring until the caramels are melted and the milk mixed in.  Let cool.  Stir oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt together.  Using a pastry cutter or fork, blend in the butter pieces until the mixture is crumbly.  Press half of mixture into lined 9x13 pan.  I used parchment paper.  Foil would also work.  Bake at 350 for 20 min.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips and then pour the caramel mixture over the chocolate.  Top with the remaining oat crumble mixture and bake in the oven for another 20-25 min.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Lift out from the pan and cut into squares.