My husband loves sweets, and Heath Bars are one of his favorite candy bars. So I modified a bar cookie recipe to incorporate toffee pieces with caramel, and they were a big hit. Here’s a bit of Heath trivia for you. Heath Bars were born in the USA. They were first manufactured in 1928 in Robinson, Illinois by two brothers, Bayard and Everett Heath. Their confectionery business was called Heath & Sons Inc., and the chocolate bars were marketed as “America’s Finest” with people traveling from afar to get some. When the Heath family sold the confectionary business and started a dairy farm, the brothers brought their candy making equipment with them. The dairymen delivering milk and cheese added Heath Toffee to the list of items customers could order. The Heath Bar also made an appearance in the supplies of fighters during World War II. Hershey began manufacturing Heath Bars in 1996.

Ingredients

12 T butter, melted

1 cup AP flour

1 cup long cooking oats

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

11 oz bag baking caramels

1/4 cup heavy cream

8 oz bag of heath bar pieces

Preheat your oven to 350 and line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper sprayed with Pam. Pour the baking caramels into a microwave safe bowl along with the heavy cream, and microwave on high for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Once the caramel is melted set it aside. You can also melt your caramel stovetop in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until all of the caramel pieces are melted and mixture is smooth.

In a medium size bowl combine melted butter with the flour, oats, brown sugar, soda, and salt.

Stir well to combine. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of a 8×8 pan using a spatula to even it out. Set the remaining mixture aside. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Sprinkle the Heath Bar pieces over the base.

Pour the melted caramel on top of the Heath Bar pieces. Scatter the remaining oat mixture as evenly as possible over the top.

Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack. Allow the bars to cool completely before slicing.

Cut into bars and enjoy.

NOTE: You can substitute chocolate chips or chocolate candy pieces like KitKats, Snickers, or Reese Peanut Butter Cups to equal 1 cup. You can see in the picture that I tossed in a few random pieces of KitKats. If your kiddos get too much chocolate this Halloween you know what to do…chop it up and make a pan of bars!

One of the tricks I’ve learned after years of making bar cookies is to always line my pan with parchment paper with an overhang. This makes lifting the bars out of the pan, cutting them, and cleaning the pan, SO MUCH easier.