Caramel Cookie Bars

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened and divided
• 1 egg
• 1 (16 5/8 ounce) box chocolate chip cookie mix
• 2 cups crisp rice cereal
• 1 (14 ounce) bag caramels (about 50)
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 375°f blend 1/2 cup butter and the egg in a medium bowl. add cookie mix and beat until well blended. stir in cereal. set aside 1 1/2 cup of the dough. press remaining dough onto bottom of well-greased 11x7 inch pan. bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
• 2 place remaining 1/4 cup butter, the caramels, and the whipping cream in medium saucepan. cook over low heat ten minutes or until caramels are completely melted. stir constantly. remove from heat and stir in vanilla. pour over baked crust. drop reserved 1 1/2 cups of dough by tablespoon evenly over caramel.
• 3 bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. cook two hours in pan on wire rack. cut into 32 bars.