Chocolate caramel pecan bars

We are in full holiday swing around here.  Tree decorating, gift wrapping and gingerbread house building.  It seems like the month is flying by.  I think every year it goes by even faster.  Has anyone else recently asked themselves “What have I been doing all year?”  Seriously though, what have I been doing??  I did start this food blog.  Aka eating more. Since we’re creeping up on January it’s almost time to start thinking about the 10 pounds I should lose but won’t.  Same goal, different year.  Let’s leave that alone for a few more weeks though.  There’s gonna be a lot of eating going on around here this month.

I find December to be full of events that call for “Bring something if you like”  I always interpret that as you better bring something!  Nothing like being the only one that doesn’t.  Since time is tight right now, I’ve got my helper box of cake mix front and center!  I love cake mixes.  Not only do they make wonderful cakes and cupcakes, you can also use them for cookies and bars.  Sometimes scratch is just not happening.

These chocolate caramel pecan bars are so easy to pull together.  There’s also peanut butter in there but that name was too long.  Nonetheless it’s in there!  There’s only a few ingredients and they can be swapped out as you like.  Since I received a big box of  Chipits, I was sure to add them to the recipe.

Chocolate caramel pecan bars

 

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Ingredients

• 1 box chocolate cake mix
• 1 egg
• ½ cup butter, melted
• ½ cup peanut butter
• ½ cup unwrapped caramels
• ½ cup chocolate chips
• ¼ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 baking dish with foil and coat lightly with cooking spray.
2. Mix the cake mix, egg and melted butter until combined.
3. Place the peanut butter and caramels in a small bowl. Microwave for a few minutes stirring occasionally until smooth.
4. Press ¾ of the dough into the pan and pour the caramel peanut butter mixture over top.
5. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and pecans.
6. Gather the remaining dough into small pieces and place on top.
7. Bake for 25 minutes. Let the bars cool before slicing.

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