you're making mealtime meaningful.
It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of desserts here at 12 Tomatoes. Cookies, cakes, pies, fudge, ice cream, the list goes on and on. While it’s fun to try out decadent recipes like Chocolate Pretzel Icebox Cake or Key Lime Pie Cheesecake, sometimes it’s nice to stick to simple ingredients.
Chocolate, caramel, and cookie dough. A classic combo, really. The ingredients may be simple, that that doesn’t mean this dessert is plain; not by a long shot!
Let’s start with the oatmeal cookie dough. Buttery, brown sugary, melt-in-your-mouth cookie dough. Do I need to say more? This stuff is good on its own, but coupled with fresh, warm caramel and semi-sweet chocolate? Yes, please.
You could use refrigerated cookie dough to speed the process along, but going that extra step and doing it from scratch really makes all the difference. Once you have the prepared cookie dough, separate it into two sections. Press one section into the bottom of the pan and bake. This comprises the crust of these delicious bars.
Next, melt caramel candies, butter, and heavy cream together to make your own extra-creamy caramel. Pour it over the cooled cookie layer and then sprinkle chocolate chips on top. All that’s left to do is crumble the remaining cookie dough on top and pop the pan back into the oven for a few minutes!
These babies are seriously binge-worthy, as the name suggests. The perfect dessert to feed a crowd – or feed your sweet tooth. Go ahead and check out the easy recipe below! Don’t say we didn’t warn you…
Binge Bars
Yield(s): Makes 18 bars
15m prep time
30m cook time
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling
- 1 (11oz) bag caramels, unwrapped
- 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
Cookie Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan & set aside.
- Combine butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium size bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Press 3/4 of the cookie dough mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. (It will be a thin layer) Bake or about 15 min or until lightly browned. Do not overbake.
For the Filling:
- Melt 3 Tablespoons butter, heavy cream, and caramels over very low heat. Stir constantly until melted and smooth.
- Pour melted caramel mixture over warm baked crust. Sprinkle milk chocolate chips evenly over caramel.
- Crumble remaining cookie dough evenly over chocolate and caramel. Bake for another 15 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into bars. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Life in the Lofthouse.