CHOCOLATY CARAMEL-NUT S’MORE BARS

prep 30 minutes bake 27 minutes at 325°F

Skip the campfire and enjoy favorite flavors of summer with these s’mores-gone-wild bars—layers of chocolaty cookies, chewy caramel, fluffy marshmallows, and salty nuts.

•    2 cups finely crushed chocolate wafers (38 cookies)
•   ½ cup butter, melted
•    1 11-oz. pkg. caramel baking bits*
•   ¼ cup heavy cream*
•    2 cups tiny marshmallows
• 1½ cups mixed nuts, cashews, or cocktail peanuts, coarsely chopped
•    1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 13×9-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan. Lightly grease foil.

2. In a bowl stir together the crushed cookies and butter. Press crumb mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a small heavy saucepan heat and stir caramel bits and cream until melted and smooth. Pour evenly over crust.

4. Sprinkle marshmallows, nuts, and chocolate pieces over caramel mixture; press in lightly.

5. Bake about 12 minutes or just until marshmallows begin to brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Use foil to lift uncut bars out of pan; cut into bars.

number of servings 24

*TIP If you can’t find caramel baking bits, use one 14-oz. pkg. vanilla caramels and increase cream to ⅓ cup.

per bar 237 cal., 15 g fat (7 g sat. fat), 14 mg chol., 163 mg sodium, 27 g carb., 1 g fiber, 19 g sugars, 3 g pro.

MAKE AHEAD

Layer bars between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.