Chocolate-Caramel Goodness

So I was feeling a little blah today, most likely because of the gloomy weather we've been having. So I decided to see if this would cheer me up...Keep in mind I'm a little nervous about doing this because as you learned from my previous post I am a frequent follower of recipe blogs. There are some very impressive one's out there so hopefully my first try isn't too embarrassing :)

Last night I made a delicious new creation. Well, I thought they were delicious, I'm still waiting for my boyfriend to tell me what he thinks. Anyways, I got that urge to bake as I have been getting more frequently and found I had a box of Devil's Food Cake that I hadn't used. Now, I don't like cake very much at all. I know what you're thinking...What?! Who doesn't like cake? Well, me that's who. So I got on Miss Betty Crocker's website to see what other creations I could make with this box of cake. What follows is what I found....

Crumbly layer before I put in pan. May have tasted a few bites...

Caramels. Mmm. Tempted to make caramel apples because it came with free sticks :)

The final product. So yummy, You can see the caramely goodness coming out.

Chocolate-Caramel Goodness Bars

adapted from Betty Crocker

1 box of Betty Crocker Super Moist devil's

 food cake mix

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened 

(I used Crisco because it was all I had. Works fine though.)

2 cups of quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

1 bag of vanilla caramels, unwrapped

1/4 cup of milk

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, if wanted

(I'm not a huge fan of nuts in desserts so I left these out)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F, and grease pan. In a large bowl beat cake mix, butter, and egg until well blended. Stir in oats until crumbly (see picture). I used my fingers for this step, it's easiest. Now try a taste. You know you want to...Reserve 1 1/2 cups of this mixture. Press remaining mixture in pan.

In 2-quart saucepan heat milk and caramels on medium-low heat, stirring often, until melted. Pour over chocolate layer in pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts if using on top. Sprinkle reserved cake mixture on top. Bake 20-25 minutes or until caramel bubbles up sides and top looks dry. Run a knife along edges of pan when you remove from oven. Let sit about an hour before you cut into it. 

Enjoy!