Caramel Oat Bars

These bars were delicious, and one of the few desserts that I make in this house that Oliver actually really enjoyed. They’re basically the topping of a crisp turned into the crust and topping of a bar, then filled with caramel, chocolate, almonds, and toffee pieces. I can’t take all the credit for them though. Inspiration for that lies solely in the hands of Lulu the Baker and her Carmelitas. You need to read her story on how she came up with the these.

Any way, I saw the picture of her bars on pinterest and couldn’t help myself, I just HAD to make them. Then when I started I did what I unfortunately tend to do, and whipped out a pen to change things up. Not a lot… I just like a bit more crust, and then I figured you couldn’t go wrong with some more caramel. Then I thought, well, caramel and almonds go well together. And how about a crunch to tie the almonds and the caramel together, like maybe, toffee pieces.

The first thing I do when I’m making any type of squares or bars is to line the pan with a foil sling. It’s just two pieces of foil running through the pan, but it makes life SO much easier when you’re getting them out of the pan and cutting them! So, line your 9” pan with a foil sling, then grease it with some vegetable spray (I use the cristco one with flour).

In a medium bowl, put your melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda.

Mix it all up so there are no dry patches left.

Press half of the mixture into the bottom of your pan, then bake for 10 minutes.

While the crust is baking, put your caramels and heavy cream into a small sauce pan.

Stir it fairly constantly while over medium heat until the caramels have completely melted.

Delicious!

Add 1/2 a cup of sliced almonds and 1/2 a cup of toffee pieces to the remaining crust mixture. Mix it up.

Here’s the baked crust.

Top the crust with 1/4 cup of sliced almonds, 1/4 cup of toffee pieces, and 1/4 cup of chocolate chips.

Pour the caramel on.

Top with the remaining crust mixture. Just press it into the caramel slightly, then throw it back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

It’s magic really, what happens in that oven. The caramel bubbles up around the edges, just taunting you, daring you…

Eat me……

Thank you, Lulu…

Thank you.

Here’s the printable:

Caramel Oat Bars

Yield: 16 bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1¼ cups flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• 50 caramel squares, unwrapped
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• ¾ cup sliced almonds
• ¾ cup toffee pieces
• ¼ cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF with a rack in the middle position. Line a 9" square pan with a foil sling, then grease it.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Make sure there are no dry bits left. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan, then bake for 10 minutes.
3. Put the caramel squares and heavy cream in a small sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the caramels have completely melted. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Stir ½ cup of the sliced almonds and ½ a cup of the toffee pieces into the remaining crust mixture.
5. When the crust comes out of the oven, sprinkle on ¼ cup each of sliced almonds, toffee pieces, and chocolate chips. Top with melted caramel, then with remaining crust mixture. Slightly press crust mixture into caramel.
6. Return to the oven for an additional 20 minutes.
7. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing it using the foil sling.