Name: Caramel Oatmeal Bars
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 18 servings
Ingredients: 1 pkg 14 oz. caramels unwrapped; 3 Tbsp. milk or cream; 1 c. oatmeal; 1 c. flour; ¾ c. brown sugar; ½ tsp. baking soda; ¼ tsp. salt; ¾ c. margarine; 1 c. chocolate chips; ½ c. chopped walnuts

Caramel Oatmeal Bars are a family favorite sweet treat that make for a decadently delicious dessert!

Caramel Oatmeal Bars

These Caramel Oatmeal Bars have been a family favorite growing up with my siblings as long as I can remember. They are so completely decadent with melted caramels, walnuts and chocolate chips all sandwiched between oatmeal layers. My siblings would, OK let’s be real, STILL fight over the corners that get a nice extra caramelization on them from a little caramel seeping out on the edges.

Wouldn’t these Caramel Oatmeal Bars be a fantastic treat for your kids’ lunch box on the first day back to school? It really is hard to believe that kids will be heading back to school soon! The littlest kids are most likely excited to go back and socialize with friends, while many teens will be begrudgingly hauling their butts back to classes come September. I always enjoyed the start of the school year while in Elementary and High School.

Living on a farm in the country, the only people we had to socialize with for the most of the summer, were our siblings or our softball/baseball teammates that we would play little league with. While I was sad to leave softball behind until next spring, the start of the school year meant back to school shopping and school activities, such as Friday night football games and clubs.

Yup, I was totally that kid in school involved in just about every thing in High School. From the Stats person on the Football and Women’s Basketball team (It gave me a free ride to all the games with the players!), to an over-achiever in Speech, 4-H, FCCLA, and dare I even mention… Knowledge Bowl! My favorite activity, has and always will be playing softball, but I loved the experiences and diversity of people I got to work with, in the wide variety of activities I participated in.

Right around this time of year, my mom would pack us all up and haul us to the closest ‘city’, which for us, was 2 hours away. We would head to the mall, each assigned a specific budget and tasked with finding new tennis shoes, jeans, tops, a jacket, athletic wear and school supplies for the new school year. While we absolutely loved this shopping trip, as it was the only time of the year we got any new clothes, with the exception of sports t-shirts, I can only imagine the financial toll it took on my parents to do this for four children!

That is why I am so excited to team up with these amazing bloggers to host a Back to School Giveaway!

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Ingredients

1 pkg 14 oz. caramels unwrapped

3 Tbsp. milk or cream

1 c. oatmeal

1 c. flour

¾ c. brown sugar

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

¾ c. margarine

1 c. chocolate chips

½ c. chopped walnuts

Steps

Melt caramels and milk in microwave for approximately two minutes. Cool. In a separate bowl mix together oatmeal, flour, sugar, soda, salt and margarine until you have a crumb texture. Pat one cup of crumb mixture into a greased 9×13 pan.

Bake 10 minutes at 350°. Remove from the oven and spread chocolate chips, nuts, and caramel mixture on top. Sprinkle the remaining cup of crumbs on top and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Let cool before serving.