Quick to make and irresistibly delicious, these Salted Caramel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars are filled with a layer of gooey caramel and pockets of melty chocolate throughout.
Do you ever have the urge to make a dessert that is just so incredibly decadent and rich, loaded with butter and sugar and chocolate and so much goodness?! Well, I do sometimes, and it's the perfect time to whip up a batch of Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies or gooey Chocolate Tahini Brownies served with vanilla ice cream. This recipe is perfect for those need-an-epic-sweet-treat-asap moments! They combine so many good elements into one amazing (and simple to make!) dessert.
As I wrote in my recipe post for the Oatmeal Scones I posted last week, I think oatmeal has such a cozy and comforting texture and flavor. My mom made the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies growing up, and it brings back memories of those. So I decided to make these bars oatmeal salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars.
The salted caramel element in this recipe couldn't get any simpler! It is made using store-bought soft caramels, like Kraft caramels or Werther's brand. The caramels are melted down with a little bit of heavy whipping cream and salt to make a lovely, soft, and salted caramel layer.
As for the chocolate chips in this recipe, I like semisweet chocolate for its slightly bitter depth to add a nice dimension to all the sweetness. However, feel free to use milk chocolate chips or even dark chocolate chips, if that is what you prefer.
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⭐️ Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Texture: The soft and gooey salted caramel, melty chocolate chips, and texture of the oats are a winning combination!
- Flavor: Imagine a delicious oatmeal cookie, but with rich salted caramel added. These bars are incredible!
- Method: You can whip this recipe up in 15 minutes and let the oven do the rest (25-30 minute bake time)!
🧈 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make these oatmeal salted caramel bars with chocolate chips.
Ingredient Notes
- Soft Caramels: This recipe is made extra simple by using store-bought caramels instead of fighting with homemade caramel! You can use Werthers or Kraft brand soft caramels, or I really like the flavor of this brand of soft caramels.
- Cream: Just a little heavy whipping cream is added to the caramels to help them melt down and thin out the texture so that the caramel isn't too chewy inside the bars but has a nice gooey consistency.
- Salt: This recipe has salted butter, salt in the batter, and salt in the caramel layer for a balanced flavor with a distinct salted caramel flavor. If you don't want salted caramel, just skip the salt in the caramel mixture!
- Butter: This recipe calls for salted butter, but I included instructions in the recipe for using unsalted butter.
- Oats: While testing this recipe, I found that the texture was best when made with rolled oats, but quick oats would work in a pinch!
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with measurements.
📃 Instructions
Step 1: In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the soft caramels, cream, and salt.
Step 2: Melt in the microwave in 30-second increments (or in a pot over medium heat on the stove), stirring frequently until the caramels are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Let it cool down until it is only slightly warm while you make the batter.
Step 3: Whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Step 4: Add the oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips.
Step 5: Fold until all is incorporated. Spread most of the batter into a prepared baking pan, reserving about ½ cup of the mixture for topping the bars later.
Step 6: Spread the cooled-down caramel mixture evenly on top.
Step 7: Drop the reserved batter by spoonful on top of the caramel layer and spread it out slightly, still allowing the caramel to peek through.
Step 8: Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden around the edges. Or remove before golden around 20 minutes if you want a soft-baked texture.
Sprinkle the bars with flaky sea salt, if desired, as soon as they come out of the oven. Let them cool down slightly for 10-30 minutes or dig in right away and serve hot with a little vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for an extra decadent dessert!
💡 Top Tip
Don't forget to make the caramel mixture first, so that it has time to cool down before adding it to the pan. If the caramel is too hot, it will melt into the batter too much, and the layer will disappear. Letting the caramel cool off enough makes for a distinct layer of caramel. Don't cool it too much, though; it should still be slightly warm to the touch and spreadable.
❓ Recipe FAQs
Store fully cooled-down bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
While I have not personally tested this recipe using gluten free ingredients, I think it would work nicely with oat flour or your favorite gluten-free flour blend!
Yes! Feel free to use any kind of chocolate that you prefer. Milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips would be great too!
🌾 More Oat Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried these Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Caramel Bars or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and write a little note telling me how it went in the comments below. Thank you!!
📖 Recipe
Salted Caramel Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars
Equipment
- 9x9-inch baking pan
- parchment paper or non-stick spray
- mixing bowls
- measuring cups & spoons
- whisk
- silicone spatula
Ingredients
For the Salted Caramel Layer:
- 200 grams soft caramels * (about 1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
For the Batter:
- ½ cup salted butter ** melted
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup rolled oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (130 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a 9X9-inch baking pan with parchment paper or grease it with butter or non-stick spray.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the soft caramels, cream, and salt. Melt in the microwave in 30-second increments (or in a pot over medium heat on the stove), stirring frequently until the caramels are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Let it cool down until it is only slightly warm (still spreadable) while you make the batter. ***200 grams soft caramels, 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Add the rolled oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips, and fold until fully combined.½ cup salted butter, ½ cup packed brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated white sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 ¼ cup rolled oats, 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ⅛ teaspoon sea salt, ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Spread most of the batter into a prepared baking pan, reserving about ½ cup of the mixture for topping the bars later. Spread the cooled-down caramel mixture evenly on top. Drop the reserved batter by spoonfuls on top of the caramel layer and spread it out slightly, still allowing the caramel to peek through.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden around the edges. Or remove before golden around 20 minutes if you want a soft-baked texture. For clean slices, wait at least 30 minutes before serving for the bars to cool down a little, or dig in right away. Enjoy!
Notes
-
You may use Kraft, Werthers, or other equivalent brands of soft caramels.
- Add an additional ¼ teaspoon of salt to the batter if using unsalted butter.
- Be sure to make the caramel mixture first, so that it has time to cool down before adding it to the pan. If the caramel is too hot, it will melt into the batter too much, and the layer will disappear. Letting the caramel cool off enough makes for a distinct layer of caramel. Don't cool it too much, though; it should still be slightly warm to the touch and spreadable.
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