Description
Gooey Chocolate Caramel Bars feature a buttery oat and flour crumb base topped with melted semisweet chocolate chips and crunchy pecans, finished with smooth caramel drizzle and a crumbly topping, baked to golden perfection for a decadent treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 2 cups quick-cooking oats
- 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients and Toppings
- 1-1/2 cups cold butter, cubed
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 jar (12 ounces) caramel ice cream topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit to prepare for baking the bars.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt until evenly mixed.
- Cut in butter: Add the cold cubed butter to the dry mixture and cut it in using a pastry blender or fork until the mixture becomes crumbly, resembling coarse crumbs.
- Set aside topping: Remove half of the crumb mixture and set it aside for the topping later in the recipe.
- Form crust: Press the remaining crumb mixture firmly into a greased 13×9-inch baking pan to form the base layer.
- Bake crust: Bake this base layer in the preheated oven for 15 minutes to set the crust partially.
- Add chocolate and pecans: Remove the pan from the oven and evenly sprinkle the semisweet chocolate chips and chopped pecans over the hot crust.
- Prepare caramel drizzle: In a small bowl, whisk together the caramel ice cream topping and the remaining 1/4 cup of flour until smooth to make the caramel mixture easier to drizzle.
- Top bars: Drizzle the caramel mixture evenly over the chocolate and pecans, then sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture on top for a crunchy topping.
- Bake final bars: Return the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and bubbly.
- Cool and serve: Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 2 hours to allow the bars to set before cutting into squares.
Notes
- Use cold butter to achieve crumbly texture in the crust and topping.
- If pecans are not available, walnuts or almonds can be used as a substitute.
- Make sure to fully cool bars before cutting to avoid them falling apart.
- The caramel topping can be warmed slightly to make drizzling easier.
- Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 240 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 140 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
