Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie Bars Recipes

PEANUT BUTTER CARAMEL BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Combine sugar, brown sugar, butter and peanut butter in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add egg; continue beating until well mixed. Add flour, baking powder and salt; beat at low speed until dough forms.
• Press dough evenly into ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Sprinkle pecans evenly over dough. Bake 15-20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned around edges.
• Place caramels and half & half in 2-quart heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 6-11 minutes or until smooth. Stir in vanilla.
• Drizzle caramel mixture evenly over pecans; sprinkle with chocolate chips. Cool completely at room temperature. Cut into bars.

CARAMEL-PEANUT BUTTER BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in candies. Press dough in bottom of pan. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown.
• Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, heat caramels and milk over medium heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted. Stir in peanut butter. Heat to boiling. Cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup peanuts. Spread over warm cookie base. Cool completely, about 2 hours.
• Spread frosting evenly over filling. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled. For bars, cut 9 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

CARAMEL PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13" pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. The foil is needed here because the caramel can get sticky!
• Cream butter, peanut butter, and both sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add egg, vanilla, milk, and salt and baking soda. Mix until combined. Slowly add flour and mix until dough comes together.
• Press half of dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. The dough will be sticky - spray your hands with cooking spray first. It will be a very thin layer of dough!
• Bake the bottom layer of cookie dough for 10 minutes.
• While the dough is baking, make the caramel.
• Place the heavy whipping cream and butter in a heavy bottomed 2Qt sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add unwrapped caramels one at a time. Stir often until the caramel is melted and smooth. Sift the flour into the caramel (if you have a small mesh strainer, just place the flour in it and tap the side of the strainer until all the flour falls through). Stir until the flour is incorporated. Turn heat all the way to low until the bottom layer is done cooking, stirring often so it doesn't burn. Right before taking the cookie out of the oven, turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.
• After 10 minutes, remove the bottom layer from the oven and pour the caramel over the top. Try to leave a 1/2" border around the cookie base. If the caramel touches the edges of the pan it will boil and stick.
• Break off pieces of the remaining dough and flatten between your hands. Lay on the top of caramel. Continue until the entire pan is covered, pressing the edges to seal them together. A little of the caramel may peek through, that's okay.
• Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until the bars start to get golden on the top. Cool completely before slicing. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not refrigerate or caramel will get too hard to eat.

CARAMEL PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butters, sugars egg and vanilla in a large bowl at medium speed until creamy. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt in a small bowl and then add to the creamed mixture.
• Stir in the chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks) the quartered caramel pieces, and the chopped nuts until combined.
• Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased or parchment lined baking sheet.
• Silicone sheets would be better too, because the caramel when baking makes them stick.
• Bake 375 degrees for 8 to 12 minutes.
• Cool on the sheet, then remove to a wire rack.

PEANUT BUTTER CARAMEL BARS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, butter and egg; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes or until no longer crumbly. Stir in peanut butter cups. , Press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until lightly browned. , Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the cornstarch, caramel topping and peanut butter; stir until smooth. Cook over low heat for 25-27 minutes or until mixture comes to a boil; stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat; stir in peanuts. , Spread evenly over warm crust. Bake 6-7 minutes longer or until almost set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Spread with frosting; sprinkle with peanuts. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting. Store in the refrigerator.

CARAMEL-PECAN COOKIE BUTTER BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugars and cookie butter until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour. Spread onto bottom of greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with pecans; press lightly into dough. Bake until edges are lightly browned, 15-20 minutes., Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine caramels and cream. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until caramels are melted. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour over crust. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack., In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over bars; let stand until set. Cut into bars.

PEANUT BUTTER CARAMEL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line 13x9-inch pan with foil, leaving foil overhanging at 2 opposite sides of pan; spray with cooking spray. Make peanut butter cookie dough as directed on pouch. Press dough evenly in bottom of pan.
• Make chocolate chip cookie dough as directed on pouch. Drop dough by spoonfuls over peanut butter cookie dough. Using metal spatula, evenly spread dough to cover peanut butter cookie dough layer.
• Bake 25 to 28 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and edges are set. Remove from oven to cooling rack. Cool 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, heat caramels and whipping cream over medium heat, stirring constantly, 5 to 10 minutes or until caramels are melted. Remove from heat. Spread over warm cookie base. Bake about 5 minutes or until caramel is set in center. Return to cooling rack.
• Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over top. Let stand 5 minutes; spread melted chips evenly over top. Refrigerate bars until chocolate is firm, about 3 hours.
• Let bars stand 30 minutes before cutting. Remove bars from pan by lifting foil; peel foil away. Cut into 8 rows by 5 rows. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE-PEANUT-BUTTER-CARAMEL CEREAL BARS

Steps:

• Brush a 9-inch square baking pan with butter; line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a pot over medium heat. Add marshmallows and salt; cook, stirring, until melted. Remove from heat; stir in cereal. Press mixture into prepared pan in an even layer. Let cool 15 minutes.
• In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 3 tablespoons water. Cover and cook over medium heat, swirling pan a few times, until sugar has dissolved and mixture comes to a boil. Uncover and cook, undisturbed, until mixture turns amber, about 3 minutes more. Remove from heat. Carefully add cream and 2 tablespoons butter (it will bubble up); stir until smooth. Let cool completely, about 1 hour. Whisk in peanut butter. Spread mixture evenly over crust and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Melt chocolate and remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a small heat-proof bowl set over (but not in) a pot of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Spread evenly over caramel layer. Let stand 5 minutes, then sprinkle with salt and refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. Lift from pan using overhangs. Using a serrated knife, cut into squares. Refrigerate in an airtight container between pieces of parchment up to 3 days.