caramel bars

I had reason to bake today (had to bring goodies in for Jason's promotion ceremony, which he does not want me to mention...) and these bars always get such a fantastic response- so I thought I would share with everyone here. These are definitely NOT good for you in any way, but the taste is out of this world, so we eat them anyhow. Mom always made them when we were kids and it is just a wonderfully gooey and chocolate-y dessert. Enjoy!

Caramel Bars

1 box chocolate cake mix
5 oz. can evaporated milk, divided
1 stick margarine or butter, softened
2 c. chopped nuts, divided
1 c. chocolate chips
approx. 50 caramels

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 cake pan. I use baking cocoa instead of flour for this and other chocolate recipes, in order to avoid that white dusting on the finished product.

Melt caramels and 1/3 c. of the evaporated milk in a double boiler (or microwave). Mix cake mix with the rest of the evaporated milk and the softened butter. Divide cake dough in half. Press one half into greased and floured cake pan. Sprinkle 1 cup of the chopped nuts over the cake mix. Bake for 6 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the cake, then pour melted caramel sauce over top. Mix the other cup of chopped nuts with the remaining half of cake mix, then break into small pieces and place over top in random fashion. Bake 16-18 minutes. Place in the freezer until bars have hardened.