Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars

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If you love caramel and chocolate together you will love these Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.  I don’t know what it is lately, but I find myself craving anything that has Caramel in it, which I find funny because as a child I did not like caramel.  And don’t even get me started on the new Caramel M&M’s. If you haven’t tried them please do, you can thank me later. The other night I was at a church youth activity and each girl was assigned to bring a dessert. One of the girls asked me if I had tried the dessert she made. I asked her what she made and she said Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars . She didn’t have to twist my arm.  I tried one, and immediately wanted another one.  After I got home that night all I could think about were those delicious cookie bars, yes I know it sounds strange but I think about food a lot. I knew I had to make them sooner than later. She told me she got the recipe off Pinterest, so there I was searching in the middle of the night for the perfect recipe to try!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 c. flour

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

10 ounce bag of caramels, (unwrapped)

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Look at that delicious gooey caramel….  I promise you won’t be able to eat just one!

     Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• In a bowl beat softened butter and sugars together until light and creamy. Add 2 eggs, vanilla, salt and baking soda, mix well. Next slowly add the flour,  scraping the sides as you go. Mix in chocolate chips.
• Line baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray. This makes cleaning up a breeze, it also makes it easier to cut your bars into squares. Place half of the cookie dough in the pan, pressing down firmly. Set aside.
• In a medium sauce pan take the unwrapped caramel and the sweetened condensed milk and cook on medium heat until melted, making a smooth caramel filling.
• Drop the remaining cookie dough in little clumps over the caramel filling. Bake the bars for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. The center will still feel soft. Cool for at least 2 hours before cutting. (If you can’t wait you can put them in the fridge to speed up the process).

These Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars were so delicious. They were the perfect balance of caramel and chocolate without being overly sweet.  My kids are already asking me to make them again! I found myself cutting off  little pieces so I wouldn’t eat a whole square (or the whole pan) but in the end I’m pretty sure I ended up eating more this way!

Look at that caramel… Isn’t it beautiful??

 I promise you need these in your life!  I’m not so sure my waist line will be happy about it , but sometimes in life you have to indulge and do what makes you happy, and these definitely made me happy!!