October 11: Non-Baking Day -- Bonus Recipe Anyway

Ty didn't feel like baking today, and since I'd just made these bars over the weekend it wasn't crucial that we have more baked goods.  I had all the extra caramel from our caramel apples sitting around, and I wanted to use that.  I found this idea at food.com.  The recipe recommends keeping the bars in the fridge which I didn't do because it hardened the caramel so much.  Sadly, the bars got stale pretty quickly on the counter.  Of course, if I had used the caramel out of the jar like the recipe calls for it probably would've been fine in the fridge.  I did freeze some which helped a bit, but they still went stale quickly on the counter.  Live and learn...

Caramel-Chocolate Oat Bars

• 1 package yellow or white cake mix
• 2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup caramel ice cream topping
• 3 Tbs. flour
• 1 - 16 oz. package chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Set the oven rack to the lowest position.
3. Butter a 9x13 baking pan.
4. For the crust, mix the cake mix, oatmeal, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
5. In a small bowl, mix the melted butter, lemon juice, and egg until well-blended.
6. Add oat mixture, mixing with hands until the mixture barely holds together.
7. Sprinkle 2/3 of mix into the baking pan and press down with your hands to spread evenly.
8. Bake for 5 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts.
10. For the filling, combine the caramel with the flour, blend well.
11. Drizzle caramel mixture over chocolate and nuts.
12. Sprinkle with remaining oat topping and press down slightly.
13. Bake 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
14. Let stand to cool until cool enough to place in refrigerator.
15. Slice into squares.

NOTE:  Best served warm when the chocolate and caramel are a little melted. :)  Then it doesn't matter if they're stale!!!