Cappuccino-Caramel Oat Bars

By

Rolled oats -- either quick-cooking or old-fashioned -- give these coffee-and-caramel-flavored bars chewy texture.



View complete recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder or instant espresso powder
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • Coffee Glaze (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 15x10x1-inch baking pan; set aside.

2. In a large bowl stir together oats, flour, the 1 cup pecans, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and beat until combined, scraping the sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, 1 tablespoon coffee powder, and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the oat mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining mixture with a wooden spoon. Reserve 2 cups of the mixture for the topping.

3. Using floured hands, press remaining oat mixture evenly into bottom of prepared pan. Spread caramel topping evenly over crust to within 1/4 inch of edges. Drop spoonfuls of reserved topping mixture over caramel topping; sprinkle with the 1/2 cup pecans.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are set (do not overbake). Cool in pan on a wire rack. If desired, drizzle with Coffee Glaze. Cut into bars. Makes 48 bars.

Storage Cover pan tightly and store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
.......................................

Coffee Glaze:

2 tablespoons very hot milk
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
1 cup sifted powdered sugar



In a small bowl combine very hot milk and instant coffee powder; stir until dissolved. Stir in sifted powdered sugar until smooth. Drizzle over bars in pan. Let stand 15 minutes to set glaze.

.................

REVIEWS:

Loved this recipe. Dropped some off for the neighbour to thank her for looking after our kitty while we were away over the Easter Weekend and she has called to ask for the recipe. I would add a bit more instant coffee to the glaze next time to give it a bit more flavor. But I know this will become a favourite for us.

This is a great, rich and thoroughly tasty dessert. I made the caramel sauce easily from scratch (just Google it, there are tons of simple recipes out there) and it was a big hit at a family gathering. The one thing is that I found the two cups of reserved flour/oat mixture to be way too much for the topping, so I used about 4 heaping tablespoons for the bars and used the rest to bake oatmeal spice cookies with. Enjoy!

I spent two days looking for this recipe. It is soooo good.

My family and I really enjoyed the cappuccino-caramel oat bars. I even made it without the coffee glaze and it was yummy.





View complete recipe