Birthday Bar Cookies

Last month my big sister had her 27th birthday party. Too celebrate, I made several types of bars cookies to bring to the party: cherry almond cheesecake bars (left,) mint chocolate brownies (middle,) chocolate caramel bars (right,) blondies, chocolate chips cookies, and raspberry bars. The crowd-pleaser was the chocolate caramel bars. I discovered this recipe in a cookbook my Grandma gave me a few years ago. Grandma was always being sent cookbooks in the mail that she didn't want and would reluctantly pay for the books instead of going to the trouble of mailing the books back. While these books were a nuisance to her, since she only cooked healthy recipes and swore she had allergies to flour and sugar, her hand me down mail order books opened my eyes to the great recipes of America's Test Kitchen as well as to the recipe for the chocolate caramel bars, from a Taste of Home cookbook, that I'm sure I'll be making until I'm a grandma myself:

Ingredients:

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups cold butter, cubed
• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 jar (12 ounces) caramel ice cream topping

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Set half aside for topping.
Press the remaining crumb mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips and pecans.
Whisk caramel topping and remaining flour until smooth; drizzle over top. Sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours before cutting. Yield: about 4-1/2 dozen.