Description
These Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Oat Cookie Bars combine a rich homemade salted caramel with chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough and nuts, creating an irresistible layered treat perfect for dessert or a special snack.
Ingredients
Scale
Homemade Salted Caramel
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (90g) water
- 4 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, sliced
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (100g) heavy cream, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Hefty pinch of kosher salt
- 7 tbsp (60g) all purpose flour
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
- 1 cup (95g) quick oats
- 1 1/4 cup (165g) all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (110g) unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 cup (210g) dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (85g) semisweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup (130g) dark chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup (95g) walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
To Finish
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Prepare caramel ingredients: Gather all ingredients for the caramel and ensure the heavy cream is at room temperature to prevent seizing when added.
- Cook sugar and water: Combine sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat without stirring until the sugar dissolves and the mixture turns from clear to amber.
- Add butter and cream: Remove from heat, whisk in butter, then slowly add room temperature heavy cream while whisking until smooth.
- Finish caramel: Stir in vanilla extract, salt, return to medium heat and bubble for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in flour. Set aside.
- Preheat oven and prepare pan: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and line an 8×8 inch baking dish with parchment paper on all sides.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk oats, flour, baking powder, and salt together; set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar: In a large bowl, mix softened butter and dark brown sugar until smooth, using a wooden spoon or electric mixer.
- Add eggs and vanilla: Mix in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until combined.
- Combine dry and wet ingredients: Pour dry ingredients into wet mixture and stir until just combined. Before fully mixing in flour, fold in 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips.
- Assemble base and nuts: Spread about two-thirds of the dough evenly in the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle finely chopped nuts evenly over the dough.
- Bake base layer: Bake the crust for 8 minutes, then remove and place leftover dough in the refrigerator.
- Add chocolate chips and caramel: Sprinkle dark chocolate chips evenly over the baked crust. Pour the caramel over the chocolate chips; reheat caramel slightly if it has thickened.
- Top with remaining dough and bake: Drop remaining dough in random blobs over the caramel layer. Bake for 25 minutes until lightly golden.
- Cool and chill: Let the bars cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour to set.
- Serve: Use a knife to loosen edges if needed, lift bars from pan using parchment, sprinkle with flaky sea salt, slice into 16 bars, and serve.
Notes
- Use room temperature heavy cream for smooth caramel to prevent seizing.
- If caramel thickens too much before pouring, gently reheat it on the stove to loosen.
- Greasing and lining the baking pan with parchment on all sides helps with easy removal of bars.
- Chilling the bars helps them set properly and makes slicing easier.
- Walnuts or pecans can be substituted depending on preference or availability.
- For a deeper caramel flavor, allow sugar to reach a deep amber without burning during cooking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 25 g
- Sodium: 130 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg
