Description
Gooey Chocolate Caramel Bars are a decadent treat featuring a buttery oat crust layered with melted semisweet chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and a luscious caramel drizzle. Baked to golden perfection, these bars offer a perfect balance of chewy, crunchy, and gooey textures, making them an irresistible dessert or snack.
Ingredients
Scale
Crust and Topping
- 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
- 1-1/2 cups cold butter, cubed
Filling
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 jar (12 ounces) caramel ice cream topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Set your oven to 350° Fahrenheit to prepare for baking the bars.
- Prepare dry mixture: In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt, mixing well to evenly distribute all ingredients.
- Cut in butter: Add cold cubed butter to the dry mixture and cut it in using a pastry cutter or fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Reserve topping crumbs: Set aside half of the crumb mixture for the topping; this will be sprinkled on top later.
- Form base layer: Press the remaining crumb mixture firmly into a greased 13×9-inch baking pan, creating an even layer that serves as the base.
- Bake base layer: Bake the crust in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until it sets slightly and begins to turn golden.
- Add chocolate and nuts: Remove the pan from the oven and evenly sprinkle chocolate chips and chopped pecans over the baked crust.
- Prepare caramel layer: In a small bowl, whisk together the caramel ice cream topping with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour until smooth to make it easier to drizzle.
- Add caramel and topping: Drizzle the caramel mixture over the chocolate and nut layer, then sprinkle the reserved crumb topping evenly over everything.
- Bake final assembly: Return the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the bars turn golden brown on top and caramel is bubbly.
- Cool and serve: Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 2 hours to allow set before cutting into bars and serving.
Notes
- Use cold butter for better crumbly crust texture.
- You can substitute pecans with walnuts or almonds for different flavor variations.
- For easier cutting, chill the bars in the refrigerator after cooling.
- Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for longer freshness.
- If caramel topping is too thick, gently microwave to loosen before whisking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 250 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
