Irresistible Caramel Stuffed Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars, loaded with peanut butter, chocolate chips and a peanut-buttery caramel center. Your sweet tooth and anyone you chose to share these magic bars with are about to be really happy!
A few months ago a friend of mine brought some amazing caramel stuffed cookie bars to a church potluck. I grabbed one while I was helping in the kitchen and after one bite I immediately didn’t even want to set the rest of them out. I wanted to go hide them in my car. They were sooo good!
I asked her for the recipe and she shared it with me. She had made the Peanut Butter Caramel Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars from Mom on Time Out. Trish, from Mom on Time Out, has hundreds of amazing recipes and I wasn’t surprised at all to hear that those bars were one of her recipes. After looking over her recipe I decided to put my own spin on it…partially because I didn’t have any toffee chips or peanut butter chips, but also because I wanted to try something a little different with the caramel center.
These delicious Caramel Stuffed Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars were born….and then promptly demolished by my family shortly after. I hope that you and your family enjoy them as much as we do!
We’re pretty big fans of peanut butter, chocolate and caramel over here…here are a few of our favorites in case you need some more inspiration.
Our Favorite Treats that have Caramel, Chocolate, and/or Peanut Butter:
- No Bake Peanut Butter Corn Flake Treats
- Peanut Butter Fudge Bars
- Chocolate Scotcharoo Rice Crispy Treats
- Caramel Corn Puffs
- Caramel Rice Crispies
How to Make Caramel Stuffed Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and set it aside. Put unwrapped caramels and milk or cream into a small sauce pan and heat on medium low heat, stirring often, until caramel is completely melted and incorporated into the milk. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Set aside.
- In your mixer or using a hand mixer, combine the softened butter, peanut butter and brown sugar until it is nice and creamy. about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and and vanilla and mix well. Add the dry ingredients: flour, oats, baking powder and salt. Mix on low until well combined.Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Press 2/3 of the dough evenly into the lightly greased 9×13 pan. Pour caramel mixture over that and then drop small pieces of the remaining dough over the caramel. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until edges are lightly browning and center is set. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions About Caramel Stuffed Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars:
How Many Calories are in these Caramel Stuffed Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars?
I don’t know, to be honest I don’t know if I want to know…it’s probably a lot. I don’t have my site set up to figure calories, but there are many calorie calculator sites that you can plug the ingredients into and serving size to get a good answer. When it comes to treats…I usually prefer not to know…probably why I generally carry the top of a muffin around with me, if you know what I’m sayin’. 😉
Does it matter what kind of Oatmeal I use?
No, quick oats or old fashioned or even steel cut oats will work great, just use whatever you have on hand.
Do these need to be stored in the fridge?
No, they do not need to be stored in the fridge. However, they will stay fresh longer if they are kept in an airtight container in the fridge. I also like the way they taste cold. It makes the caramel a little more chewy and I really like that. It’s all about your personal preference.
Can I freeze these Cookie bars?
Yes, these bars freeze really well. You can freeze them in the pan you cook them in as long as they are covered with a tight lid. Or you can cut them into the desired size and then stack them with wax paper or parchment between them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag.
Caramel Stuffed Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars are the perfect indulgence and comfort food. If you’re having a long week or need something to boost the morale in your family. These ARE what you need!
More Delicious Desserts
- FOR THE COOKIE BAR
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- 2 cups brown sugar
- ½ cup peanut butter, creamy or you can use crunchy if you want little pieces of nuts in your bars
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup oatmeal, old fashioned or quick
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips
- FOR THE CARAMEL CENTER
- 1 11 ounce bag of Kraft Caramels, unwrapped
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup milk or cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and set it aside.
- Put unwrapped caramels and milk or cream into a small sauce pan and heat on medium low heat, stirring often, until caramel is completely melted and incorporated into the milk. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Set aside.
- In your mixer or using a hand mixer, combine the softened butter, peanut butter and brown sugar until it is nice and creamy. about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and and vanilla and mix well.
- Add the dry ingredients: flour, oats, baking powder and salt. Mix on low until well combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Press ⅔ of the dough evenly into the lightly greased 9x13 pan. Pour caramel mixture over that and then drop small pieces of the remaining dough over the caramel.
- Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until edges are lightly browning and center is set. Let cool completely before cutting into bars. Enjoy!
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Mentions adding eggs in the directions but no eggs listed in ingredients!!
So sorry Emily, I fixed it. It’s two eggs.
Did not turn out very well. I think maybe the baking powder was to be baking soda like in cookies.
I’m sorry to hear that! It actually is supposed to be baking powder. How long did you cook it?