salty peanut caramel bars

A lot of times there are some stupid, good, boring, crazy "get to know me quizzes' on Facebook. Some of them ask you crazy things about yourself that no else knows and/or might find interesting. Well, on one of these random quizzes I told my friends that one of the crazy things I do is eat peanuts everyday. I don't think it's crazy, but it is strange. I mean, think about it, everyday I eat a handful or more of salty peanuts. Plus, I eat a lot of walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds and almonds. Never thought about it till I answered that quiz. Even hubby says when we are grocery shopping he is amazed at the the amount of nuts I buy, in bulk, at the store.
Those macadamia nuts are one of my favorites. So buttery, so crisp and so addicting. Why do they have to be so fattening you know? It's bad enough they are so expensive, but why all the calories from something so natural? Speaking of fattening---


These caramel bars are very rich and decadent, so make sure to cut them into candy/bite-sized pieces,. With all the caramel in there they are chew-worthy; you'll be chewing for a while. If you love those sea salt caramels, then you will love these.


salty peanut caramel bars
print recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
½ ts sea salt
3/4 cup cold butter, divided
3/4 cup chopped peanuts (I left them whole & used dry roasted)

caramel middle:
30 caramels, unwrapped (or I made my own:make your own caramel)
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
½ ts sea salt

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Grease a 13 x 9 inch pan, then line it with parchment paper, both side; two pieces overlapping each other (this will help you get bars out; there is caramel in here, so it will be sticky).
In large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, salt and egg; cut in 1/2 cup butter until crumbly. Stir in nuts.
Reserving 2 cups crumb mixture, press remainder firmly on bottom of baking pan.
Bake 15 minutes.
In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt caramels with condensed milk, the other ½ ts of salt, and remaining 1/4 cup butter.
Pour over prepared crust. Top with reserved crumb mixture.
Bake 20 minutes or until bubbly. You need to cool this completely (about 2 hours) before cutting it. It is hard to cut so use a sharp knife. Wetting the knife helps too. Store loosely covered at room temperature.
Makes about 2 dozen + bars.