Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars

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I created the world’s gooey-est and stickiest bars when I made these. Or at the very least, the gooey-est bars I’ve ever made, and I’m not complaining. That’s what soap and water is for.

Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars

There are only good things that can come from melting butter, brown sugar, caramels, and cream.

Add lots of vanilla extract and chocolate for good measure.

Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars

When I received these caramel squares from Oh! Nuts, I had a few ideas for bars that would incorporate melted caramels.

I prefer making bars to cookies because bars are much faster and less fussy to make.

Caramel squares

And I prefer these bars to anything I’ve eaten so far in 2012.

To say these are rich is an understatement. The melted caramels and cream, the butter, the chocolate seeping through each bite. Call Ina Garten and let the woman who cooks with a pound of butter like it’s a tablespoon know that these bars will give her a run for her butter money.

Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars

I really can’t convey how dense they are. Each one is like holding a little lead weight.

When I gave Scott the small 8-by-8-inch pan to hold, he thought I had lined it with heavy metal objects. I assured him that it wasn’t a stunt pan; just all the good stuff which is that heavy.

Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars

He also thought I put alcohol in them because they have so much depth of flavor. He thought it was another rum cake special, but no. I attribute the depth of flavor to the caramels.

I also added a copious amount of vanilla extract to them, allowing the vanilla flavor to not only stand up to, but really complement, the caramels. Too often vanilla gets lost, but not in these.

I assure you that you will want to get lost with one of these.

Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars

Make sure your gym membership is active or your running shoes are laced. You may want to get a little exercise after these.

Be forewarned: these are sticky and gooey and you should probably store them in refrigerator or freezer.  You may also want to eat them with a fork.

Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars

Yes these are sweet, but they’re not as sweet as they are fatty dense, rich, thick, heavy.

You will be able to feel the butter on your lips after you get done taking a bite and every once in awhile, that’s a-okay. Knowing that the high butter content of your latest dessert does double-duty for chapped lips is always a winning feeling.

Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars

If you’ve had a bad day, a PMS day, want to butter up (literally) your spouse before you ask them to take you to Bora Bora or impress friends ‘n fam at parties, make these.

Guests may need to use forks unless you pet names like Aunt Susie Sticky Fingers and Uncle Bobby Butter Fingers are acceptable among party-goers.

Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars

The oozing chocolate.

The drippy caramel cream sauce.

These will make you close your eyes, savor each bite, and the world will just.stop.while.you.chew.

Ahhh….

Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars

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5 from 2 votes

Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars (Gluten-Free with Vegan option)

By Averie Sunshine
Rich, gooey, chocolaty, and loaded with caramel. If you like chocolaty, rich treats with lots of chewy texture, these bars are for you!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 9
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Ingredients  

  • ยพ cups butter, melted
  • 1 ยฝ cups whole rolled oats
  • ยพ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ยฝ cup all-purpose flour, optional*
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 35 caramel squares, or 2 cups caramel sauce
  • โ…” cup half-and-half or cream

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing for overhang (do not make this recipe unless you line your pan with foil) and spray the foil down very well with cooking spray.
  • In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter.
  • To the melted butter add the oats, brown sugar, baking soda, flour*, one teaspoon vanilla, and stir to combine.
  • Pour just over half the oat-butter mixture (about 60%, eyeball it) into the bottom of the prepared baking pan, spread it evenly with a spatula, and bake for 9-10 minutes. The mixture will bubble up and foamย considerablyย while baking. Watch it closely and the sides will show a bit of browning at about 9-10 minutes.
  • Remove pan from oven and let it rest and cool for 3 minutes, and then sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top in an even layer.
  • While the mixture is baking, unwrap the caramels and place them in a medium-sized saucepan thatโ€™s been sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Add the cream to the caramels and melt over medium-high heat, stirring nearly continuously to prevent scorching or boiling. It may take 5 minutes for caramels to completely melt.
  • After mixture has melted, is smooth and combined, turn off the heat and add one teaspoon of vanilla, using caution because the vanilla will likely bubble up a bit, and stir to incorporate.
  • Pour the melted creamy caramel mixture over the top of the oat mixture that has been topped with chocolate chips. It will be very soupy, this is fine.
  • Take the remaining half (40%) of the oat-butter mixture and sprinkle it as evenly as possible over the top, using a spatula to gently spread the oats within the โ€œcaramel soupโ€.
  • Place pan on top of a cookie sheet as a precaution for spill-over and bake for 14-16 minutes more, or until sides of the mixture are beginning to brown (Look closely in order to discern โ€œbrowning edgesโ€ from the overall brown color of the caramel mixture when itโ€™s baking; theyโ€™re very similar but distinct enough to differentiate). The mixture will be bubbling quite intensely while baking and watch it for signs of spilling over.
  • Remove pan from the oven and allow it to rest and completely cool on the countertop before attempting to slice the bars (at least two hours) or you can expedite the process by placing the pan in the freezer or refrigerator until sufficiently cool enough to slice (but not frozen).
  • Store bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or freezer, and freeze extras for up to 3 months. I stored these bars in the freezer because they were so gooey and they never froze solid (all that butter).

Notes

*I did not add flour to the bars as they are shown here and they areย incrediblyย gooey and are hard to keep in a โ€œneatโ€ bar form, which only matters if youโ€™re trying to take pictures of them or transport them. If you prefer something less gooey and sticky and more portable, add 1/2 cup flour. If you do not have caramel squares, you could use 2 cups of caramel sauce for ice cream and the thicker and richer, the better; however, I have not tested the recipe with caramel sauce.
Oats are a gluten free grain but use certified GF if necessary and take care the caramels used are GF.
To make the recipe vegan, use margarine in place of butter, cashew cream (1/4 cup cashews, soaked, and blended with 3/4 cup water) or another nut-based or vegan milk in place of the cream, and useย vegan caramels.

Related Recipes

If you’re a fan of caramel, I recommend:

Caramel Apple Bars (GF with Vegan adaptation)

Stack of Caramel Apple bars

Caramel Maple Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Caramel Maple Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Raw Vegan GF Caramels (sandwich style with peanut butter in the middle)

Raw Vegan GF Caramels
Raw Vegan GF CaramelsRaw Vegan GF Caramels

Caramel Peanut Butter and Apricot Jelly Bars (GF with Vegan adaptation)

Caramel Peanut Butter and Apricot Jelly Bars

Happy unwrapping.

Caramel Squares

 

Do you like caramels?

I love them and all things caramel-flavored.

What’s one of the last really rich and dense desserts or other foods you’ve had?

Sometimes I want something airy and light like popcorn or angel food cake. Sometimes I want a lead balloon. Today was the later.

Thanks for the Babycakes Cupcake Maker and Cookbook Giveaway entries.

5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. Wow! what great recipes…..not a bad one in the bunch…..I love everything you have posted on the reese muffins cookies and the caramel peanut butter bars…..don’t know which one I want to make first….and really shouldn’t be eaten any of them….but I am going to have too…..:) maybe just one a day……thank you for these great recipes….

  2. I made these today! I wanted to add some nuts so I used almond meal in place of the flour. They are serious butter bombs, but so good!

    1. Oh wow, interesting touch to add some A.M. in place of the flour! They were probably extra buttery b/c unlike grain-based traditional flour, nut-based flour like A.M. doesn’t really absorb any liquid so it just kind of pools and sits, but that’s not a bad thing :) Thanks for trying the recipe & LMK!

  3. Oh wow, we are talking mega gooey, which in my family, is mega awesome. Pinning this! That is funny about holding lead weight:) I am SO curious as to how these will turn out! Do you think baking them longer would firm them up at all? (NOT that I want to, just curius) Digging in your archives is SO worth it, Averie!

  4. I swear, whenever I need recipe inspiration, your site is filled with it! These sound phenomenal – question though, if I replace the caramel squares with caramel sauce, I’m assuming I’d leave out the heavy cream??

    1. Glad I can help be the source of inspiration! :)

      If using caramel sauce, yes, skip the cream. It was just added to help melt the caramels down. In retrospect, caramel sauce would have been wayyyyy easier. But 18 mos later, and hindsight is 20/20. I remember LOVING these bars though! LMK if you try them!

  5. I don’t think I have drooled this much looking at a recipe in a while. These bars looks rich, decadent and over the top. So basically I need them in my life. These are added to the top of my to bake list. Absolutely gorgeous!