Whenever people ask me what’s my favorite thing to bake, I can never give a straight answer. I love to challenge myself in the kitchen, but at the end of the day, the classic cookies and brownies are my favorite.  Candy, cake, cupcakes, muffins, pies, pastries, tarts, and all that other jazz? They’re good, but I can never turn down a cookie or a brownie (even at 7AM while I’m taking pictures). There is nothing, I repeat, nothing, better than eating freshly baked cookies and brownies right out of the oven. I’ll sacrifice singeing all of my taste buds for some gooey, chewy deliciousness.

And that is exactly what I did when I made these cookie bars.

Level: Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 4 dozen bars

Ingredients:
2 (16.5 oz.) packages of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
½ cup evaporated milk
60 whole caramels, unwrapped
½ cup peanut butter, melted (you can melt it in microwave)
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375° F and grease 9 x 13-inch jelly-roll pan (baking sheet or pan with rims).
2. Spread one package of cookie dough into prepared pan and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.
3. In a double boiler (a metal bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water) melt caramels with ½ cup evaporated milk.
4. When melted and combined, add ½ cup melted peanut butter and pour over cookie base. Sprinkle chocolate chips as evenly as you can over the caramel.
5.  With the second package of cookie dough, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls evenly onto caramel and chocolate chips mixture; press down lightly.
6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and edges are set. Cool in pan on wire rack.