Candy Caramel Bars
With red and green candy-coated milk chocolate pieces and a chewy caramel center, these bars are sure to be a favorite on any Christmas cookie plate.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 24 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 1.5 cups brown sugar, packed
- 1.5 cups butter, softened (3 sticks)
- 1.5 cups rolled oats (the original recipe says quick-cooking, but I use old-fashioned)
- 1 cup crisp rice cereal
- 2 cups flour, all-purpose
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- caramel syrup, approximately 1 cup
- 1 (14oz) package red and green candy-coated milk chocolate pieces
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13x2″ pan.
- In a large bowl, whip the softened butter. Stir in the brown sugar and mix until combined. Then add the oats and rice cereal. Finally mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Combine. Your mixture should be very thick.
- Set aside about half of the dough. Press the remaining dough into the bottom of the greased pan. I estimate and use just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. The remaining batter will be used to make the top layer of these bars.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Don’t be surprised to discover that it’s only partially baked.
- Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle 1 cup of the candy pieces on top. Drizzle with the caramel syrup.
- Spoon the remaining oat mixture over the candy and caramel layer. There won’t be enough dough to cover the top completely, so just cover most of it because the top layer will melt together as the bars finish baking.
- Sprinkle the remaining chocolate candy pieces over the top.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the center is set and the top is golden. I also like to do the toothpick test to be sure. Cool for about an hour before cutting and serving.
Find it online: https://livingwellmom.com/candy-caramel-bars/