Oatmeal Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars

If you are someone who loves rich and gooey desserts, this one is for you. My Oatmeal Caramel Chocolate Chip bars have just the right amount of caramel and chocolate so that there's plenty oozing out but not so much that it can't keep a good structure. It's an easy weeknight dessert. Swap out the box brownies for these. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 3/4 cup of unsalted butter, melted
• 6 oz semisweet baking chocolate (Ghirardelli) or 3/4 cup of semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. of vanilla
• 1 cup of old fashioned oats
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 18 caramels (Kraft Caramels or Werther's soft/original)
• 1/4 cup of heavy cream

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, whisk together brown sugar, unsalted butter, egg, and vanilla
2. Add in the oats, flour, salt and baking soda to the same bowl
3. Chop 6 oz of the chocolate into chunks or simply mix 3/4 cup of chocolate chips into the dough
4. Spread only half of the dough in an 8x8 pan that's been lined with parchment paper, and bake at 350ºF for 12 minutes
5. Heat up the heavy cream, caramels, and a pinch of salt in a microwave safe bowl for 30 second intervals. Patience with this step! It takes some time for the two ingredients to melt together and with consistent stirring. Really work the fork into the heavy cream and as the mixture becomes warmer, it'll combine thoroughly. 
6. Pour the caramel over top the first layer of dough until covers all of the layer and then crumble the second half of the dough evenly over the caramel. Bake for 20 minutes and let it cool into gooey delicious Oatmeal Caramel Chocolate chip bars!