Peanut Butter Cup Caramel Bars

Here's a simple bar cookie recipe to get your salivary glands moving.

What's so simple about this recipe you ask?

Well, it only requires a few ingredients and very little measuring because it's made with a yellow cake mix.

Cake mix is not just for making cakes you know - it's used as the foundation in many awesomely easy bar and cookie recipes.

In fact there are entire dessert cookbooks written with cake mix as the main ingredient.

We like easy so much that we recently released our very first electronic cookbook Easy Cake Mix Bar Cookies: 25 Tried and True Recipes.

This is definitely a winner and a dessert you'll be making again and again.

It's hard to go wrong with yellow cake mix, caramel, chocolate, peanuts and peanut butter cups - the best of the best when it comes to satisfying your sweet and salty cravings.

Peanut Butter Cup Caramel Bars

Peanut Butter Cup Caramel Bars Recipe

Bake Time: 24 to 29 minutes total

1 (18.25 ounce) package of yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
20 miniature peanut butter cups, chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 jar (12.25 ounces) caramel ice cream topping
1/4 cup peanut butter*
1/2 cup salted peanuts

Topping

1 can (16 ounces) milk chocolate frosting
1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the yellow cake mix, butter and egg on low speed for 30 seconds. Continue beating on medium for 2 minutes, or until mixture is no longer crumbly.
With a wooden spoon, stir in chopped peanut butter cups.
Press mixture into prepared baking pan and bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until lightly browned.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the corn starch, caramel topping and peanut butter.
Cook over low heat for 25 to 27 minutes or until mixture comes to a boil; stir occasionally.
Remove caramel mixture from heat and stir in peanuts.
Spread caramel in even layer over warm crust and then bake 6 to 7 minutes more, or until almost set.
Remove from the oven and cool the pan on a wire rack.
Spread with chocolate frosting and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting.