Caramel Chip Bars

Rich, buttery caramel sandwiched between layers of soft blondie loaded with semi-sweet chocolate chips, creamy white chocolate and crunchy bits of toffee.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword bars, cake mix, caramel, chocolate chip, heirloom recipe, holiday tray, semi-homemade, white chocolate chip

Category Bars

Baking Ambition Adventurous

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 45

Cooling Time 1 50

Total Time 3

Servings

Calories 235kcal

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)

US Customary - Metric

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