Caramel Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars

I have 3 words for this recipe.....OH MY GOSH!!!
Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour

2 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon, Ground

3/4 teaspoon Ginger, Ground

1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg, Ground

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

7 ounces (1/2 of 14-ounce package) caramels, unwrapped

2 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, oats, sugar, baking soda, salt and spices in large bowl. Add butter; stir until mixture is well blended and forms coarse crumbs. Reserve 1/2 (about 2 1/4 cups) for the topping. Add pumpkin and vanilla to remaining mixture in bowl; stir until well blended. Press evenly into bottom of greased foil-lined 13x9-inch baking pan. Set aside.

2. Microwave caramels and milk in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 to 3 minutes or until caramels are completely melted, stirring after every minute. Let stand 1 minute. Pour over pumpkin mixture in pan, spreading to within 1/2-inch of edges. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Lift from pan. Cut into bars.

Here are the changes I made: Since I use salted butter, I only put in 1/4 tsp. of salt. I used 3/4 package of caramels instead of 1/2 bag (you can never have to much caramel....since I used 3/4 bag of caramels I used more mile and I used 3 Tbsp. milk. Instead of using the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, I used 1 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice. Another tip I have is I never use imitation vanilla, I use PURE vanilla-you can find this in the mexican isle at the grocery store, it makes the biggest difference in your cooking.


Recipe taken from Mccormick Website