Name: Caramel Chocolate Peanut Bars
Total time: 5 h 45 min
Ingredients: 1 cup (5 ounces/142 grams) all-purpose flour; 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1/8 teaspoon salt; 5 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened; 1/2 cup packed (3½ ounces/99 grams) light brown sugar; 20 soft caramel candies; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 3 tablespoons water; 5 Snickers bars (2.07 ounces each), chopped; 2 tablespoons milk; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1/4 cup roasted salted peanuts , chopped

Why This Recipe Works

This recipe for Caramel Chocolate Peanut Bars is easy to prepare, yet elegant enough to serve at a dinner party. For cleaner nut chopping, we placed the nuts in a heavy-duty zipper-lock bag and tapped them with a meat-pounding mallet until they were the desired size. To easily remove the Caramel Chocolate Peanut Bars from the pan after they were done cooking and cooling, we sprayed the pan with cooking spray and lined it with aluminum foil, allowing the excess to overhang pan edges. We then sprayed the foil with cooking spray. Once the bars had baked and cooled, we used the foil overhang to easily lift the bars from the pan.

Instructions

For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 9 by 9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing excess to overhang pan edges. Spray foil with cooking spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. With electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes. On low speed, beat in flour mixture until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Press mixture firmly into prepared pan. Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes.

For the filling: Meanwhile, melt caramels, salt, and water in saucepan over medium-low heat, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour mixture over crust and refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat Snickers Bars, milk, and butter in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until Snickers have melted, about 5 minutes. Pour over chilled caramel.

Bake until filling is set, about 12 minutes. Top with peanuts, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours. When bar cookies are cooled, use foil overhang to lift bars from pan. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares. All bar cookies can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.