Caramel Oatmeal Chewies

Hello all! Did you miss me? I hope not too much because in another week I will be going away again! My cooking is severely suffering these days because somehow we are so busy, even though it's summer break for me. I had all these grandiose ideas of cooking elaborate meals while Chuck was at work and blogging to my heart's content about them but unfortunately that hasn't happened yet. Maybe in August!

Anyway, I baked these to bring to a party and they were a big hit! An ooey, gooey, caramel and chocolate delight that everyone loved. These are super-easy and very delicious so make some today and save yourself a piece!

Note: If you click on the blog link below, you will see that the blogger has not posted since sometime in early 2008; but I always like to give credit where credit is due, so I am linking both to her blog as well as the Toll House site, where I found the original recipe.

Caramel Oatmeal Chewies

recipe adapted from VeryBestBaking.com, ingredient amounts from Kyla's Cookies

Makes 24-32 bars, depending on how you cut them

2 1/3 cups flour, divided

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup butter, melted

12-ounce jar caramel sauce

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 baking dish.

Combine 2 cups of the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and oats in a large bowl. Stir in the butter. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture and press the rest into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven.

Heat caramel sauce (with lid OFF) in microwave for 15 seconds or until slightly warmed. Mix in a small bowl with remaining 1/3 cup flour. Spread over hot crust.

Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the caramel layer. Crumble the reserved cup of oat mixture over top. Bake 20-22 minutes, or until top is golden brown and caramel is bubbling.

Cool completely and cut unto squares. (These are very rich so the bars can be small.)

Half of the chocolate chip layer...