These easy cake mix bars are filled with caramel and plenty of chocolate chips to satisfy any sweet tooth. The iced coffee in the dough makes these Caramel Macchiato Gooey Cake Bars a great pick me up when you need it.
Last week my husband and I went on our church staff retreat with some of the other staff members. Wouldn't you expect a "retreat" to mean relaxing, enjoyable days? I have officially dubbed this trip a boot camp. There was not very much relaxing going on this week. They had us out mountain biking in the woods, up hill both ways 😉 Then we did a 12 miles hike to see some waterfalls and caves. Believe me, my legs were like jello every day.
At least we had pans of dessert to come back to each night.
My contribution to our trip was dessert...oh, and veggies too. But let's move past the veggies and right to these gooey cake bars.
We needed energy to keep going on all these hiking and biking torture trips, so I added some International Delight caramel iced coffee to the cake mix dough. I also added more iced coffee AND instant coffee to the sweetened condensed milk that I drizzled over all of it. Then I chugged the rest of the iced coffee while the bars were baking. It's that amazing. Have you had a chance to try it? This was my first (and definitely not last) experience. I think I found a new love.
If you follow me on Instagram, this was the behind the scenes shot I shared when I made the gooey cake bars. Makes you just want to slurp that sweetened condensed milk, huh? Maybe that's just me 🙂
A triple hit of coffee, plus all the sugar from the chocolate chips and caramel. Yes, please. These bars were a great reward for all the exercise they put us through.
Now I realize that not everyone likes coffee treats as much as I do, so I wanted to mention that you can make a few substitution and still enjoy these amazing caramel bars. You can substitute milk in the dough, and then just leave out the coffee from the sweetened condensed milk. I made a note in the recipe just for you.
If you are a coffee and chocolate lover like me, I think you need to run right to the store and buy the ingredients for these bars.
And when I say run to the store, you probably should "run" because then you will enjoy these bars that much more. Exercise = more dessert loving in my book.
But then again I also think these count as breakfast because they have coffee in them. I may have sugar issues...but you already knew that, right?
Stay up to date on all the BruCrew baking here:
FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | GOOGLE+ | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | BLOGLOVIN
Recipe
Caramel Macchiato Gooey Cake Bars
Gooey cake mix bars get a fun twist from the coffee and caramel bits.
Ingredients
- 1 white cake mix
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon caramel iced coffee, divided (International Delight Caramel Macchiato)
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup caramel baking bits
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 1 -14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons instant coffee
- ¼ cup chocolate sprinkles (jimmies)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the cake mix, butter, and ⅓ cup iced coffee. Press the dough into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.
- Sprinkle the top of the dough with the white chips, chocolate chips, caramel bits, and marshmallows.
- In a small bowl combine the instant coffee and 1 Tablespoon iced coffee. Stir until dissolved. Pour the sweetened condensed milk into the coffee and stir completely. Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top of everything in the pan. Make sure the tops of all the marshmallows are covered. Top with the chocolate sprinkles.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting.
- Store covered in a container on the counter. Makes 24 squares.
Notes
If you do not like the coffee flavor, you can substitute milk for the iced coffee in the dough, and you can leave out the instant coffee and iced coffee from the sweetened condensed milk.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 187Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 91mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 0gSugar: 27gProtein: 3g
Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.
More easy cake mix recipes:
Nutella Almond Joy Cake Bars - cake mix bars filled with coconut, nutella, and almonds
Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies - easy cake mix cookies with Reese's peanut butter cups and raspberry chocolate candy bars
Lemon Magic Cake Bars - lemon cake bars with white chips and sprinkles are guaranteed to make you smile
Deedee
I made this and though they are really tasty, they were too gooey. By that, I mean the sweetened condensed milk seeped to the bottom and left them way too sticky to pick up. In your photo, they look more "solid" all the way to the bottom. Ingredients and measurements were right. I wonder what went wrong?
Jocelyn Brubaker
Mine were definitely gooey, but yes, you could pick them up. How long did you bake them? Maybe a few more minutes would have helped firm them up some.
Deedee
I baked them the full 30 plus another 5 minutes. The sides were starting to pull away from the pan and the top was deep golden brown. Maybe there was a difference in the cake mix? I used Duncan Hines brand. Also, I used a disposable aluminum pan, since I was dropping these off at school for an event. I don't use those often, so maybe the heat wasn't as even.
Jocelyn Brubaker
It may be the different cake mix and pan, although I wouldn't think that would affect it too much. I usually use a Pillsbury cake mix and a glass baking dish for my baking.
Jocelyn Brubaker
Another thought...how soon after baking did you cut into them? I always let gooey bars sit overnight before cutting them. That gives them time to set up.
Deedee
I didn't cut into them until the next morning. Then I stuck them into the freezer for a few hours so I could plate them without all the goo. I suspect it was the cake mix and I'll check to see if it was a "pudding in the mix" or "Supermoist" brand that changed the texture. It can't be my superior baking skills at fault here. 🙂
Jocelyn Brubaker
I'm sure you did fine with baking them 🙂 I am definitely stumped as to what went wrong though because I have made quite a few different variations of these and never had them be so gooey that you couldn't pick them up. Hopefully it was just the baking mix and pan! Don't let it stop you from baking 🙂
Mary Rafey
Thank you! I live in Toledo, OH and we are not allowed to be out on the roads for the 2nd day now. Once I can leave my house , I will try and track it down. Much appreciated! Mary
Mary Rafey
Hi Jocelyn, I am so anxious to make these. Were do you get the Iced coffee from and where is it located at the store? Thanks so much for all your wonderful recipes!!!! Mary
Jocelyn Brubaker
Hi, Mary. I found the Iced coffee at Walmart in the same refrigerators as the milk. I have seen it at Target and Meijer to. I hope you are able to find it!!!
Julie
A family friend is turning 51 on New Year's Eve & LOVEs caramel macchiato's so I'm hoping this is a gift he will like (who am I kidding, I know he will!!!) thank u!
Amanda S
I was wondering where you can get the caramel bits from/what they look like??
Jocelyn Brubaker
Hi, Amanda. I buy the caramel bits at Walmart and Target in the baking aisle by the chocolate chips. They look like little round caramel balls.
Kim
I was wondering how they would be without marshmallows? I'm not a marshmallow fan
Jocelyn Brubaker
I think it would be fine to leave out the marshmallows. Maybe you could substitute your favorite nut or another kind of chocolate chip in its place.
Mackenzie
Ohh I love caramel macchiato; what a fun recipe! Totally my kind of afternoon coffee dessert!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Mackenzie!! 😉
Crystal Owens
This looks and sounds amazing, Jocelyn! I wish we lived closer so we could have a coffee date!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks girl! And I wish the exact same thing...I know we would have the best time together crafting and eating snacks!!!
suburbsmama
These look amazing, my mouth is watering right now. If you get a chance, please link up to my linky party going on now: http://suburbsmama.blogspot.com/2013/08/sunday-linky-20.html
kristi@ishouldbemoppingthefloor
Caramel Macchiato is my FAVORITE coffee flavor ever...these sounds awesome!!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks so much Kristi!! 🙂
capturing joy with kristen duke
Gooey and bars, my favorite words for a treat!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Haha, mine too!!
Liz Fourez
That does sound like bootcamp!! At least you had these tasty treats to help you recover : )
Jocelyn Brubaker
They really did hit the spot after all that hiking!! 😉
Melissa @ No. 2 Pencil
Wow! All my favorite flavors!!! This looks great!!!!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Melissa!! 😉