Chocolate and caramel are a match made in heaven. These Turtle Bars are a fudgy brownie that is filled with smooth, creamy caramel. You'd never know these are made with boxed chocolate cake mix!
Being a lifelong Minnesotan, my vocabulary consists of words like "pop", "hot dish" and a twenty minute goodbye. Bars are a popular dessert in the Midwest made in a square or rectangle baking pan making them perfect to bring to a potluck (is my Minnesotan showing?). Cut these Turtle Bars into squares and serve them right out of the pan. Uffda, don't ask me why they share their same name with a place you can buy a pitcher of beer, but you betcha they are delicious!
What You'll Need
- Boxed chocolate cake mix - any kind will work, but I prefer Devil's Food as it is a more dark chocolate flavor. These bars are "sinful".
- Caramels - unwrapping the individual caramels is the most tedious part of this recipe. This would be a great way to get your kids involved and let them help you with this!
- Evaporated milk - some to melt with the caramels and some to add to cake mix to create the perfect fudgy texture
- Chocolate chips - the semi-sweet chocolate chips will melt in the middle of the bars when baked adding to the ooey-gooey goodness
- Butter - need I say more? These bars are decadent!
- Nuts - chopped pecans add the perfect amount of crunch to the bars. Walnuts would work great too!
Making the Turtle Bars
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Place unwrapped caramels in a small saucepan with ⅓ cup evaporated milk. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted. The caramels could also be melted in the microwave. To do this, place caramels and evaporated milk in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in one minute intervals, stirring in between, until melted.
Next, in a mixing bowl combine cake mix with evaporated milk, melted butter and nuts. Take half of the batter and press into bottom of 9X13 pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips and caramel.
Finally, dab remaining batter evenly over the bars. It's okay to see some of the caramel poking through. The batter will spread out as it bakes.
Bake for 20 minutes and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares. Served alongside a tall glass of milk, these Turtle Bars are a rich and decadent dessert that is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth craving!
Often times I think store bought and boxed items get a bad rap when it comes to baking. When it comes to your level of comfort in the kitchen and the number of hours in a day, these shortcut items can be a lifesaver. There's no shame in my game! I love utilizing ingredients like the boxed cake mix in these Turtle Bars to create an amazing dessert that is sure to impress!
Other popular dessert recipes:
Turtle Bars
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place caramels and ⅓ cup evaporated milk in a small saucepan & melt over medium heat, stirring often.
- In a mixing bowl combine cake mix, ⅓ cup evaporated milk, butter and nuts. Pat down half of batter into bottom of 9x13 pan. Bake for 5 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the bottom crust. Pour melted caramels over chocolate chips.
- Dab remaining batter on top. It's okay to see some of the caramel and chocolate chips poking through.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.
Notes
- Any chocolate cake mix will work
- Caramels could also be melted with evaporated milk in the microwave. Place them in a microwave safe bowl and melt in one minute intervals, stirring in between, until smooth
- For nuts, I like to use either pecans or walnuts
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