Description
Decadent chocolate‑cake‑mix base layered with rich caramel and a buttery oat‑crumb topping for irresistibly gooey caramel chocolate bars.
Ingredients
- 1 box chocolate fudge cake mix
- ½ cup butter or margarine, softened (for crust)
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 bag (14 oz) caramels, unwrapped
- ¼ cup butter or margarine (for caramel layer)
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup reserved cake mix (for topping)
- ½ cup quick‑cooking oats
- 3 tbsp butter or margarine, softened (for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (325 °F for dark or non‑stick pan).
- Reserve ½ cup of the cake mix for the topping.
- In a large bowl, beat the remaining cake mix, ½ cup softened butter, and eggs until a dough forms. Stir in the semisweet chocolate chips.
- Press this mixture evenly into an ungreased 13×9‑inch baking pan. Bake for 14–18 minutes or until set.
- While the crust bakes, in a saucepan over medium heat, combine unwrapped caramels, ¼ cup butter, and the sweetened condensed milk. Cook about 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth.
- Remove the crust from the oven and immediately spread the warm caramel mixture evenly over it.
- In a small bowl, mix the reserved cake mix, oats, and 3 Tbsp softened butter with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle this topping evenly over the caramel layer.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake until the topping is golden and set—generally another ~20 minutes (timing may vary).
- Let cool completely in the pan before cutting into bars to allow gooey layers to firm up.
Notes
- If using a dark or non‑stick pan, reduce oven temperature to 325 °F to prevent over‑browning.
- Let bars cool fully before cutting—this helps the caramel layer set and prevents mess.
- Store bars covered at room temperature or in the fridge; chilling them can make cutting cleaner.
- For extra indulgence, sprinkle flaky sea salt over the caramel layer before adding the topping.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar (if yielding 48)
