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?
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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
Chandra@The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen
Jocelyn these look amazing!! You totally deserved them after all that torture. Hee Hee!!!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Haha thanks so much Chandra!! 😉
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats
Wow these are over the top and the perfect treat for working your butt off. I think I'd have to go on a relaxing retreat after that one!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Julie!! Yes, I completely agree, next time-relaxing retreat!! 😉
Tina @ Tina's Chic Corner
First of all I'm in love with your pictures...simply gorgeous. Second, these bars look so so good! I love the combo of flavors you used. 🙂
Jocelyn Brubaker
Awe, thanks so much Tina!! I really spend a lot of time working on my pictures to get them just the way I want, so it's nice to hear that they're liked! 😉
Katie
I'm definitely a coffee and chocolate lover like you! My favorite Starbucks drink is a Carmel Macchiato. I will for sure be making these bars ASAP! Thanks for the recipe!
Katie @thecasualcraftlete.com
Jocelyn Brubaker
You're welcome Katie!! Let me know what you think of them!! 😉
Melanie @ Just Some Salt and Pepper
All this coffee could make these totally perfect for breakfast, right? 🙂
Jocelyn Brubaker
Exactly!!! 😉
Nancy P.@thebittersideofsweet
I will most certainly like a bite or two or three of these! Looks great!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Nancy!! 😉
Alyson
These sounds fantastic! I always purposely under-cook brownies because I like them barely done, so "gooey" in my opinion is the way to go. Add caramel.. even better 🙂
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Alyson!! Mmmm, gooey brownies, they have a special place in my heart as well! 🙂
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust
Well, I love a gooey cake bar. And with coffee????? YES!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Haha thanks Dorothy!! 😉
Lindsay @ Life, Love and Sugar
These sound awesome!! Love me some caramel macchiato!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Lindsay!! 😉
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes
These sure look like they live up to their name as far as being gooey! WOW do these look awesome!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks so much Ashley!! 😉 They definitely were super gooey and soooooo good!!
Faith @ Pixie Dust Kitchen
These look amazing! I love that you used coffee twice in the bars. Perfect for coffee addicts!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Faith!! 😉
Shaima
Oh my gosh this look amazing. My little sister LOVES caramel macchiatos, so I sent her the link and we plan on making these together while I am home visiting her next weekend! I can't wait!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Shaima!! That's wonderful to hear!! Let me know what you guys think of them!!
marcellina
Wow these bars look amazing! I love coffee flavoured anything!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Marcellina!! 😉
Tieghan
Any bar topped with sweetened condensed milk is going to be a winner! I swear that stuff is like liquid gold! As are these bars. Ok well, not liquid gold, more like pure gold! yum!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Haha, thanks Tieghan!! I def agree about the sweetened condensed milk, pure genius-ness!!
Heather @ Sugar Dish Me
Ohhh man. You just combined all my favorite things: coffee, cake, and cookies. LOVE. Pinned!! Totally making these! Though I may need boot camp to work off the calories...
Jocelyn Brubaker
You won't be disappointed with these, I promise!! 😉
Averie @ Averie Cooks
I love love love cake bars like this! With a bunch of addins (marshmallows and white choc are fab!) and then topped with sweetened cond milk. I havent made bars like this in awhile but gosh, I love em! Pinned!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks so much Averie!! 😉
nancy pfeifer
Oh yum yum yum!!!! Caramel macchiato is my fave!!!! you are amazing!
http://atozebracelebrations.com/2013/07/link-party-tuesday-july-30-2013.html
Nancy
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks so much Nancy!! 😉
marcie@flavorthemoments
That retreat did NOT sound relaxing at all. I'd love to relax with one of these with more coffee on the side.
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Marcie!! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that, LOL!
Karissa K. @ Sweet As A Cookie
These sound amazing! Anything caramel makes this girl happy!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Thanks Karissa!! You're sure to love these then 😉
LuAnn Braley
*LOL* I was freaking out because I didn't see the recipe at first. Glad I kept scrolling....it's saved now!
Jocelyn Brubaker
Haha! I'm glad you found and saved it!! 🙂