Chocolate Caramel Bars

I found this awesome recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, Sweet Pea's Kitchen. I saw her photo and started drooling right then. I find a lot of great recipes on her blog and you will too. You can see her original write up and photos (which are far superior to mine!) at this link.

I will definitely make these again and the recipe is now a permanent part of my binder. I know they look tricky to make, but they really aren't. The layers are just made with crackers and you don't even have to bake them! Very simple.

Chocolate Caramel Bars
Yield ~3 dozen bars

Base and Second Layer
48-64 butter crackers (I used Keebler Club)

Caramel
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup milk
pinch salt

Frosting
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup butterscotch chips
1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped

Grease a 9x13 pan. Arrange 1/2 the crackers in the bottom of the pan. You may have to cut them to fit the edges.

In a saucepan over medium heat, boil all caramel ingredients for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour caramel over the crackers and spread to cover evenly. An offset spatula works great. Top the caramel with another layer of crackers.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt peanut butter and baking chips until smooth. Pour gently over crackers and spread with offset spatula.

Sprinkle peanuts over the top and chill until set, at least 2 hours. Cut into bars.

Happy Baking!