DARK CHOCOLATE CARAMEL BARS by NancyC

Makes a 9 x 13″ pan of bars

1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk, divided
1 (11-ounce) bag Kraft caramels, unwraped
1 (15-ounce) box chocolate cake mix with pudding in the mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts, divided (or a mix of pecans and walnuts)
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips, divided

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Unwrap caramels and melt them with 1/3 cup of the evaporated milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently until caramels are completely melted. Remove from heat; set aside.

Mix remaining evaporated milk, the dry cake mix, and melted butter in a large bowl. Press half of the cake mixture firmly onto the bottom of a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan to form crust. Bake 8 minutes, then remove from oven.

Sprinkle 1 cup of the chopped nuts and 3/4 cup of the dark chocolate chips over the crust. Drizzle evenly with melted caramel mixture. Top with teaspoonfuls of the remaining cake mixture, pressing gently into the caramel mixture (you can use the back of your spoon to do this). Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts and 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips.

Put back in the oven and bake an additional 16 to 18 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan, then cut into bars.

Note: if you want to eat these warm (they’d be great with some ice cream on top!) wait about 20 to 30 minutes before cutting them so they won’t be so gooey. For less gooey bars, wait about an hour before cutting them, when they’ve cooled more. Be sure not to wait more than a few hours before cutting them; if you do, they will be harder to cut since the caramel and bottom crust will harden some. Also, It may be a little tricky to get your first piece out of the pan without it crumbling a bit, but once that’s out, the rest of your bars should come out easily!

Recipe from NancyC | nancy-c.com