CHOCOLATE CHIP CARAMEL COOKIE BARS - GLUTEN FREE

What do you do on a very cold Saturday in April when you had planned to work in the yard and plant flowers, but the weather doesn't cooperate?  You make Chocolate Chop Caramel Cookie Bars!  I had all of the ingredients on hand, so I decided to make these bar cookies that I had been craving!  Who can resist chocolate, sweetened condensed milk (it was all I could do not to lick the can), peanut butter and caramel?  These bar cookies freeze beautifully, so I suggest that you make a batch and freeze half for later because they are so rich and delicious that you just might want to eat them all!

Lining the pan with parchment paper is very important!

They come out just like this and are so much easier to slice when the pan is lined!

The most time consuming part of this recipe is unwrapping the caramels!

Sweetened condensed milk is one of my biggest weaknesses!  Combine it with butter and caramel and you have a match made in heaven!

Just before going into the oven.

I let the pan cool until it was room temperature and then put it in the freezer for about an hour.

The bar cookies were very easy to slice after being in the freezer.

The final taste test by Mr. Crazy Blonde!

I think they were a hit!

I'm going to serve this dessert at an outdoor lunch that I'm giving very soon.  The bars freeze well, so I'll put them in the freezer and serve with a small scoop of ice cream and raspberries!  They are however, very very good just the way they are.  If I don't freeze them, I'm scared that I'll eat them all!

My sweater is from Ann Taylor Loft (on sale)!

I hope you all are having a great weekend!