I was standing in the baking aisle at the grocery store the other day trying to decide what to make for an upcoming party when my eye landed on these.
I think I heard music playing and someone shout “Yahoo!” (that may have been me). Caramel bits. What a concept. Little bits of delicious caramel ready to turn into something amazing. The part that I really loved is the line that says “Unwrapped for Easy Melting.” Right on! Call me lazy and a slug, but I hate wasting time and precious brain cells unwrapping caramels. So I generally just don’t make anything with caramel for that very reason.
The file of recipes stored in my head immediately went to a recipe I have for toffee bars. They are moist and delicious and completely bad for you. What would happen if I threw in some of these caramel bits? I had to find out!
So I brought them home and whipped up a batch of caramel toffee bars. I almost fainted when I took a bite out of one warm from the oven. They are sooooo good. No really, in the top 10 of bar cookies I’ve ever tasted (and believe me, there has been a lot of cookie tasting!).
The cast of characters for Caramel Toffee Bars, minus the coc0nut I forgot to put in the photo.
You start with a simple crust pressed into a baking pan.
While the crust is baking, melt the caramels with a bit of cream.
Pour the melted caramel over the top of the crust.
Top the caramel layer with the filling layer and return pan to oven. Try to keep from melting in a puddle while this bakes. When you take it out of the oven, it will be all golden brown and smelling incredible. Sprinkle with Heath Toffee Bits, which will start to melt into the top.
Take a deep breath, take a bite - and then melt in a puddle before eating the rest of the bar.
Caramel Toffee Bars
Crust:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
Cream together and press in bottom of baking pan. I used an 11 x 7 inch pan but you could also use an 8 x 8 inch pan for a thicker bar or an 9 x 13 inch pan for a thinner bar. Bake 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Caramel Filling:
bag of caramel bits (11 ounce bag)
1/3 cup of heavy cream
Put caramels and cream in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30-second intervals, stirring until caramels are melted. If you aren’t a lazy slug like me, you could use regular caramels. You’ll need about 2 cups. When melted, pour over the top of the cooked crust.
Topping:
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup coconut
1/2 tsp. salt
1 package of Heath Bits ‘o Brickle Toffee Bits
Mix ingredients together and pour over the caramel on top of the crust. Return to the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
When done, remove from the oven and top with Heath Toffee Bits. If you want to turn this dessert from something incredible that will make your taste buds scream “Thank you!” for days into something even more wicked…. try drizzling a bit of melted chocolate on top. You may need someone nearby to help you off the floor after you take a bite. Melt about 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips with 2 tbsp. of heavy cream in the microwave. Just use a spoon or a knife to drizzle over the bars.
Happy Entertaining and Enjoy!
Shanna
Savvy Entertaining 