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bite taken out of caramel peanut butter caramel bar

Caramel Peanut Butter Almost S'mores Cookie Bars

Yield: 24 bars
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

Graham Cookie Base:

  • 1 cup (227 g) salted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups (318 g) packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups (about 200 g) crushed graham cracker crumbs, about 18 rectangle crackers
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Caramel PB Layer:

  • 10-12 ounces (283-340 g) soft caramels, unwrapped
  • ⅓ cup cream or milk, see note
  • ½ cup (128 g) creamy peanut butter, I use a heaping 1/2 cup
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ to 2 cups (255 to 340 g) semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil or parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the longer sides for easy removal of the bars after baking. Grease evenly with cooking spray and set aside.
  • In an electric stand mixer or in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.
  • Add the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. On low speed, mix until combined.
  • Press half (or slightly more than half) of the dough evenly on the bottom of the prepared pan.
  • In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the caramels and cream (or milk) and microwave in 1-minute increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until well-combined.
  • Spread the caramel/PB mixture over the layer of cookie dough in the pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Crumble the remaining cookie dough over the top in small pieces.
  • Bake the bars until golden brown but still soft (don't over bake!), about 20-25 minutes. The caramel may seem runny but if the cookie dough part is golden and soft-set, take the bars out. Cool completely. Cut into squares and serve (chilled, room temp or warm).

Notes

Caramel: if you're using homemade caramel, you most likely don't need to add the cream (you'll want about 1 1/2 cups caramel).
Milk or Cream: if using milk with the caramels (instead of cream) the mixture will be quite a bit thinner and runnier. I've made it both ways and it's delicious either way - just richer and creamier with the cream rather than the milk.