Caramel Chip Bars
In my previous post, I mentioned that my DIY Vanilla Cake Mix was a recipe born of necessity. Well, this recipe was that necessity. These Caramel Chip Bars have been a favorite on my mother’s Christmas goodie trays for a very long time, long enough that the 18.25 ounce cake mix that this semi-homemade recipe uses as its base is no longer readily available. Hence the need for an alternative to the boxed cake mix so we can continue to make these delicious treats.
While these were always a generally popular item on mom’s Christmas trays they are a special favorite of my sister’s. Mom would always make sure there were extra available for my sister at Christmas, as well as making them specifically for my sister on other occasions such as her birthday (or because she requested them 🙂). When I asked my sister what her favorite treat was that mom made, without even a moment’s thought, she declared “Caramel chip bars.” Honestly, I was 100% expecting that response (but I never like to assume).
And what’s not to love? Although they start with a cake mix base, the bars are not cakey at all – they are more like a blondie than anything else. They are loaded with chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and bits of toffee candy and sandwiched in the middle is a luscious, buttery, rich layer of caramel. Every bite is a symphony of flavor and texture. Because they leverage cake mix and pre-made caramel candies they are pretty quick and easy to pull together – the most significant time investment is waiting for the bars to cool and set so they can be cut up.
I actually decided to recreate this recipe twice. Once with store-bought, boxed cake mix to be as true to what mom used to make as possible and once with my DIY Vanilla Cake Mix. This gave me the opportunity to compare them side by side. As you can see in the image above, the bars made with the homemade cake mix have a slightly smoother top and get just a touch more golden than those made with the store-bought mix. From a texture perspective, the homemade cake mix version had a slightly more crisp top and bottom but it was not a significant difference. But, of course, it all comes down to the taste and, I assure you, there is no difference, at all, in taste. So, however you choose to get to the full 18.25 ounces of cake mix (borrow from a second cake mix, use a homemade cake mix just for the difference, or use all homemade cake mix) you can be confident that you will get perfect, delectable caramel chip bars just like mom used to make.
Caramel Chip Bars
Equipment
- 9"x13" brownie pan
- large saucepan
- mixing bowl
- As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.candy thermometer (optional)
- measuring cups (or kitchen scale)
Ingredients
Caramel Filling
- 32 caramels (I like Werther's, but mom always used Kraft)
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup butter
Cookie Dough
- 18.25 oz
yellow or white cake mix - ½ cup oil
- 2 eggs (large)
- 2 cups chocolate chips (mini)
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1.4 oz Heath Bar (chopped)
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350°F. Grease (or line with non-stick foil) a 9"x13" baking pan.
Make the caramel:
- In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the caramels, sweetened condensed milk and butter.32 caramels, 14 oz sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 cup butter
- Cook and stir until completely smooth. Set aside to cool while making the dough.
Make the dough:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, oil and eggs and mix until it comes together in a soft dough.18.25 oz yellow or white cake mix, 1/2 cup oil, 2 eggs
- Stir in the mini chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and chopped Heath Bar until evenly distributed. The dough will be stiff.2 cups chocolate chips, 1 cup white chocolate chips, 1.4 oz Heath Bar
Assembly:
- Press 3/4 of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
- Pour the cooled caramel over the crust. Drop the remaining dough by spoonfuls over the caramel layer. Do not worry about completely covering the caramel or trying to spread out the dough, just distribute it more or less evenly over the surface.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife or spatula around the edges to make sure the bars release from the sides. Cool at room temperature for another 40 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set the caramel before cutting into individual bars.
Notes
- These bars are very sweet, between the cake mix, which has a high ratio of sugar, the white chocolate and the caramel, there is a whole lot of sugar in them. I like to make the following adjustments to help balance that out:
- Add 1/2 tsp salt to the caramel mixture
- Add 1/2 tsp salt to the dough
- I like a touch of vanilla flavor in my caramel, so I add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract to caramel mixture just after removing it from the heat.
- When heating the caramel I found that I was able to consistently get the right texture by bringing the mixture to between 212°F and 215°F, this should be about where it is when the caramels are all fully melted but may take a few minutes longer. This ensures the water content is cooked out and the caramel will set soft and gooey, but will not ooze out of the bars.
- Modern cake mixes are too small for this recipe, to compensate you can:
- Use a small amount of a second cake mix to bring the total weight to 18.25 oz (keep the remainder of the second cake mix in a sealed container for future batches)
- Substitute a DIY cake mix that yields the appropriate weight
- You can use Heath or Skor baking pieces in place of the chopped Heath bar, just substitute by weight.
- If you want to double down on the chocolate, try using a chocolate cake mix for the base instead.
Nutrition
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