Yummy Bars

by Anne Papina on September 16, 2012

Yummy Bars | Webicurean

As much as I relish my time in the kitchen–that methodical and soothing rhythm unfolding as you work a masterpiece–sometimes the moment calls for something semi-homemade. This is one of those moments. I wanted to prepare a sweet treat this week, and a quick stroll down memory lane brought me to the “famous” Yummy Bars.

Perhaps we do this more as we get older, but I love pulling out the old yearbooks from time to time, browsing classmates’ inscriptions, reliving the year’s shenanigans from football games to cheerleading stunts to running amok on the field in the mascot uniform (Mustang) … to baking. Wait, baking? Yes, in my yearbooks, friends wrote about my cooking, specifically the “Yummy Bars” I brought to school. Sure, they could remember me for cheering our teams to victory, for my big spill on opening night of our production of Grease, or for leading the Adventure Club into the wilderness of Yosemite. But, no, it’s the Yummy Bars–they win out every time.

My sister (or maybe it was her neighbor Pam) got us started on these in the 70s–a sinful cookie bar loaded with dark chocolate, gooey caramel, and toasted pecans–easy enough for a kid to assemble and seriously good. What’s not to love?

My senior crew on Grad Nite (that’s me in the middle):

Grad Nite '83
As my recipe repertoire grew, Yummy Bars became an item often overlooked but never forgotten. Fast forward to the 90s, when Webicurean was a fledgling new Web site, I included it here. So long, and so many iterations ago, the original post is somehow lost. In 2000, when the folks who publish InStyle, People, and Cooking Light decided to premiere a new print publication, hot.dots Magazine, guess who made the cut? Webicurean’s Yummy Bars, of course:

hot.dots magazine article

Ah, it’s just a feather in my virtual cap.

These cookie bars are simple enough for a child to prepare (I did!), and because they’re semi-homemade, there’s little fuss. It’s good to have a few semi-homemade tricks up your sleeve, so you can whip up something delicious, even memorable, at a moment’s notice. Now it’s time for a new generation to discover Yummy Bars, so let’s begin!
chocolate chips

Get all the ingredients ready. The original recipe calls for German chocolate cake mix. I’m not sure whether this even exists anymore, as I couldn’t find it, so I subbed in milk chocolate cake mix instead.

butter

The butter needs to be melted, so pop it in the microwave for few. This butter was frozen, so it took a couple of minutes to melt completely.

cake mix

Add the 1/3 cup of evaporated milk along with the cake mix to the melted butter, and stir until the dry ingredients are moistened.

cake batter

Spread half the cake batter in a lightly greased 9×13 baking dish, and bake for 6 minutes at 350.

caramel pot

Meanwhile, melt the caramels in a pot with the other 1/2 cup evaporated milk. This will be the most tedious part of the recipe–unwrapping 50 individually wrapped caramels. Find a little helper for this busy work.

melted caramel

Once the caramel has melted, set it aside. The first half of your cake should be out of the oven and ready for the next steps.

chips & nuts

Sprinkle the chocolate chips and nuts evenly over the partially baked cake bottom.

caramel drizzle

Drizzle the caramel evenly over the top of that.

yummy bars last step

Crumble and press the remaining cake batter over the top of the caramel, then bake another 20 minutes or so until done.

yummy bars

Allow to cool completely before digging in–Enjoy!

5.0 from 4 reviews
Yummy Bars
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Quick and easy cookie bars loaded with chocolate chips, gooey caramel, and toasted pecans--a hit every time.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 20
Ingredients
  • 1 box German chocolate cake mix
  • ¾ cup melted butter
  • ⅓ cup evaporated milk
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (1-6oz package)
  • 1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
  • 50 caramels (1-14 oz package)
  • ½ cup evaporated milk
Instructions
  1. Mix together cake mix, melted butter, and ⅓ cup evaporated milk.
  2. Spread half of this in a lightly greased 9x13" pan.
  3. Bake at 350 for 6 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts on partially baked cake.
  5. Melt the caramels with the ½ cup evaporated milk, and drizzle over the cake.
  6. Crumble and pat the remaining mixture on top.
  7. Bake 20 minutes at 350.
  8. Cut when cool.
  9. Makes 4-5 dozen 1- to 1½ inch bars.

 

Next week let’s dig into the fall’s apple bounty with some harvest rice.

 

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

Liz September 16, 2012 at 11:26 am

LOVE these! I remember my first bite in the early 80’s…my college roommate’s mom made them for us! I was hooked. Thanks for the reminder…it’s been years since I’ve whipped up a batch 🙂

Reply

Anne Papina September 16, 2012 at 2:00 pm

I almost forgot how good these were until I made them this week–we practically lived off them back in the day!

Reply

Alaiyo Kiasi September 16, 2012 at 1:38 pm

Did someone say caramel? And chocolate? These are super scrumptious looking. Pecans too? Yes please!

Reply

Anne Papina September 16, 2012 at 2:00 pm

Thanks! I wish I could pass some through the screen–we have way too many here to eat!

Reply

Jen @ Savory Simple September 17, 2012 at 4:55 pm

These do indeed look very yummy!

Reply

Anne Papina September 17, 2012 at 5:26 pm

Thanks! I just had to check out your jumbo lump crab cakes–they look awesome!

Reply

Sarah @ Miss CandiQuik September 19, 2012 at 11:26 am

wow…these need to happen asap. I found something (somewhat) similar using a german chocolate cake mix on Pioneer Woman’s blog – but I’ll use this recipe for sure…eek, can’t wait – I’m sure a sugarholic.

Reply

Anne Papina September 22, 2012 at 12:50 pm

You won’t be disappointed, promise! I just Googled PW’s version, and it’s virtually the same, except she calls them Knock You Naked Brownies. She didn’t seem to have trouble finding the German Chocolate cake mix though!

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