No-Bake Buttery Caramel Cracker Bars With Chocolate
After any holiday season, the first thing I do is clean my pantry out. First, I take stock of everything in the pantry.During the fall and winter season, I often purchase bulk buttery crackers, for both soup and appetizers. In addition, with holiday baking, I end up with excess brown sugar and pounds of butter. Now I could freeze the butter, I prefer not to. Instead of freezing items, or breaking buttery crackers into breadcrumbing, I make desserts. After all, my extra pantry ingredients were originally meant to be used for desserts or soups, so incorporating them into a fantastic no-bake dessert is a great way to use them up! Waste not, want not. Keeping ingredients fresh is always important.
Ingredients
- 90 Leftover Butter Crackers Like Club Crackers
- My Recipe for 4 Ingredient Soft Buttery Caramel
- 1/4 C mini morsel chocolate chips divided into 2 clumps for use later
- 8 Oz 4 - 2 0z squares of meltable chocolate bricks or 1 bag (10 oz Chocolate Chips
- 9 "x13" baking pan
- ingredients for soft caramel
Instructions
- Prep a 9 x 13" pan.
- Either line the pan from side to side with aluminum foil or *use a brush an unflavored coconut oil to treat the base and sides of the pan for easier release (*preferred option)
- First, unpack all 90 crackers, in a bowl to grab easily for prep.
- Next, you will need the first 30 crackers.
- Start by working across the pan, and placing 5 crackers across and 6 up (heightwise)
- Once that layer is complete it is time to assemble my 4 Ingredients Soft Caramel Recipe.
- Divide the caramel sauce into 1/3's as you will need it for each layer.
- Using the prepared 4 Soft Caramel Recipe, drizzle the sauce in an 's' sweeping motion coating each cracker.
- Repeat until the first layer is complete.
- If a cracker is not covered, use non-stick spray on the back of a spatula then go ahead and make sure you cover all the crackers with the use of the spatula by spreading manually.
- Be careful not to displace crackers, so don't spread too hard.
- Since the caramel is on, now use one of the three clumps of mini morsels and spread them across the caramel.
- Next, add a new layer of crackers exactly as you did above. 5 across and 6 up to = 30 total crackers.
- Again, spread the caramel on this layer exactly as you did above.
- Then repeat the mini morsels.
- Once again for the 3rd time TOP with crackers.
- Use the final portion of caramel sauce to coat crackers.
- Spread as evenly as possible.
- Now, microwave the chocolate pieces or bag of chips until the chocolate is smooth.
- Spread this chocolate across the top of the caramel.
- Chocolate should spread easily and if it does not, use the back of a spoon treated with nonstick spray or unflavored coconut oil to spread evenly.
- Cover with Foil.
- Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
- When ready to serve, remove from refrigerator, use a knife or a strong, unflexible serving spatula to cut through the crackers into bars.
- Remove each bar and place it on a tray.
- Whatever is not used, refrigerate.
- You can refrigerate and store this for up to 7 days.
Video
Notes
I used unflavored coconut oil when I can so if I have to spread anything it is on the back of the utensil for easy release.
Additionally, you can use the same oil to coat the nonstick pan.
Even if the pan boasts nonstick, you are working with caramel, coat it anyway.
Foil lined is great, but, you might have foil stick to the bottom of the bars, so beware, which is why I don't use the foil that often.
You can make the 4 ingredients soft caramel recipe ahead of time and reheat.