Janice & Joni's BFF Caramel Bars

Let's end the week with these chocolaty caramel bars from Keeping Up Cookbook.  

They are simple to make and the kids can help.  My girls stirred together the oat crust/topping mixture and unwrapped all the caramels.  They love getting in the kitchen and helping out Mommy.  I have little chefs in the making.  Make up a batch of these caramel bars to share with your neighbors and friends, or make some new friends!  They are sure to check in with you weekly to see what you're baking next.

I hope you have enjoyed the recipes featuring Keeping Up Cookbook this week!  Check out this post to read more about this awesome cookbook.  I made the Lemon-garlic spaghettini with grilled lemon shrimp, Blueberry cream cheese muffins, Sjoblom's slow cooker french dips, Bonnie's Cheerio snacks, and these delicious caramel bars.  

Oat Crust/Topping:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper leaving a 1/4 inch overhang.  Spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients.  Press 3/4 of the mixture into the bottom of prepared pan.  Save the remaining mixture for the topping.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Caramel/Chocolate Filling:

1 (14 oz) package Kraft caramels, unwrapped

3 T heavy cream or half n half

3 T butter

2 cups milk chocolate chips

While crust is baking, melt the caramels, cream, and butter over low heat or in a double boiler.  Pour melted mixture over baked crust.  Sprinkle with milk chocolate chips and crumble remaining oat mixture over top.  Bake for another 15 minutes.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.  Lift out of pan using parchment paper and cut into bars.  Enjoy!