These crunchy, chewy, nutty, caramel-y, chocolate-y bars are a fun treat. They appeal to the sweet tooth in kids of all ages. The recipe calls for nuts, coconut, oats, chocolate chips, and m&ms. You can leave out any of those things, except the oats. 
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- OR
- 1 ½ cups caramel ice cream topping mixed with ½ cup flour
- 1 ¾ cups quick oats
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ¾ cup brown sugar (packed)
- ½ cup coconut
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup butter (melted)
- 1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
- 1 cup mini m&ms
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- Melt butter in heavy 3 quart sauce pan.
- Add sugar, corn syrup, condensed milk, and salt.
- Stirring constantly, bring to a boil.
- Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
- Allow to cool to room temperature (this is important because it prevents the caramel from running to the edges of the pan.)
- OR just use
- 1 ½ cups caramel ice cream topping mixed with ½ cup flour
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and grease 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
- Combine oats, flour, sugar, coconut, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Stir in butter, and mix well.
- Reserve 1 cup of oat mixture, and press remaining mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Press dough up the sides of the pan about ¾ of an inch to form a crust.
- Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Yields 30 bars. (approx. 2 x 1.75 inches)
In a 2 quart sauce-pan, over low heat, melt
½ cup butter
Add
1 cup brown sugar
1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk
½ cup corn syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
Stirring constantly, turn heat to medium high.
As soon as it comes to a boil, remove from heat.
Stir in
1 teaspoon vanilla
Set aside to cool for an hour. To speed up the process, set the pan in a sink of ice water. Make sure the water is at least an inch below the rim of the pan. Stir the caramel frequently to make sure it cools evenly
Once it’s cooled to luke-warm, it will become much thicker. At this point, you can make the cookie dough.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly coat a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with non-stick spray.
Melt
¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks)
Let it cool for 15 minutes.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine
1 ¾ cups quick oats
1 ½ cups flour
¾ cup brown sugar (packed)
½ cup coconut
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
Whisk together.
Add melted butter, and mix well.
Reserve one cup of oat mixture.
Press remaining oat mixture into bottom, and ¾ inch up sides, of prepared baking pan
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven.
Pour cooled caramel into the bottom of the “crust” layer. The sides of the crust will prevent the caramel from touching the edge of the pan and burning.
Sprinkle top of caramel with
1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
1 cup mini m&ms
Top with
1 cup chopped nuts
Sprinkle with reserved cup of oat mixture, and gently press down.
Add a few extra m&ms to the top, if desired (purely for cosmetic reasons), and return to the oven for 20 minutes.
Cool on wire rack.
Cut, and serve.
Nom nom nom!