Welcome to the ultimate recipe for Salt River Bars. If you’re searching for a dessert that perfectly balances chewy, gooey, and crunchy, you’ve found it. These bars are an absolute dream for any occasion.
This recipe transforms simple pantry staples into an unforgettable treat. Get ready to discover your new favorite dessert obsession.
What Are Salt River Bars?
Salt River Bars are a decadent dessert bar featuring a buttery oatmeal cookie base and crumble topping. Sandwiched in between is a rich, gooey layer of melted chocolate chips and thick caramel, often with the added crunch of pecans or walnuts. They are celebrated for their delightful texture and rich flavor profile.
Why You’ll Love This Salt River Bars Recipe
- Incredibly Easy: The steps are straightforward and simple, making this a perfect recipe for bakers of all skill levels.
- Perfectly Textured: You get a wonderful contrast between the soft, chewy oat base, the molten chocolate and caramel, and the crisp crumble on top.
- Crowd-Pleasing Flavor: The combination of butter, brown sugar, chocolate, and caramel is a classic that everyone adores. They are a guaranteed hit at potlucks, bake sales, and family gatherings.
- Highly Adaptable: As you’ll see in our variations section, it’s easy to customize these bars to your liking.
Ingredients for Salt River Bars
The magic of this recipe lies in its simple, high-quality ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to gather.
For the Oatmeal Crust and Topping:
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides the structure for our crust and crumble.
- Rolled Oats: Use old-fashioned rolled oats for the best chewy texture.
- Brown Sugar: Adds moisture and a deep, molasses-like sweetness.
- Baking Soda: Gives the crust a slight lift.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances all the other flavors.
- Unsalted Butter: Melted butter binds the crust ingredients together and provides a rich flavor.
For the Gooey Filling:
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: The classic choice for a balanced, rich chocolate flavor.
- Pecans or Walnuts: Toasted and chopped nuts add a fantastic crunch and nutty flavor. This is optional but highly recommended.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: This is the secret to the ultra-gooey, never-fail caramel layer. Do not substitute with evaporated milk.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Follow these simple steps to create the most delicious Salt River Bars. We’ll break it down into preparing the components and assembling the final product.
1. Prepare the Crust and Crumble
First, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking pan, or line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang to easily lift the bars out later.
In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pour in the melted butter and stir until the mixture is uniformly crumbly. Press half of this mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of your prepared pan to form the crust. Set the remaining half aside.
2. Assemble and Bake the Bars
Sprinkle the chocolate chips and chopped nuts evenly over the crust. Now, for the magic caramel layer: drizzle the entire can of sweetened condensed milk evenly over the chocolate chips and nuts.
Take the remaining oat mixture and crumble it evenly over the top. It’s okay if there are some gaps where the filling peeks through.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the edges are bubbling. Let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. This is a crucial step—cutting them while warm will result in a gooey mess! For the cleanest cuts, chill the bars in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Pro Tips for Perfect Salt River Bars
- Don’t Overbake: Pull the bars from the oven when the top is golden brown. Overbaking can make the caramel layer hard and the oat base dry.
- Cool Completely: I can’t stress this enough! The cooling process allows the caramel and chocolate to set properly, ensuring clean, beautiful bars. Patience is key.
- Toast Your Nuts: For a deeper, more robust flavor, toast your pecans or walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes before adding them to the filling.
- Use Parchment Paper: Using a parchment paper sling is the easiest way to remove the entire block from the pan for perfect slicing.
Delicious Variations to Try
While the classic recipe is fantastic, these bars are a great canvas for creativity.
- Butterscotch Bliss: Swap the semi-sweet chocolate chips for butterscotch chips.
- Salted Caramel: Sprinkle a pinch of flaky sea salt over the sweetened condensed milk before adding the crumble topping.
- Different Nuts: Try using chopped almonds, peanuts, or even macadamia nuts.
- Ultimate Decadence: For a truly rich dessert, consider a recipe like these Caramel Brownie Cheesecake Bars for inspiration on layering flavors.
Storing Your Salt River Bars
Proper storage is key to keeping your bars fresh and delicious.
- Room Temperature: Store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Place parchment paper between layers to prevent sticking.
- Refrigerator: For a chewier, firmer bar, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Freezing: These bars freeze wonderfully! Wrap them individually in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer-safe bag. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before enjoying. This makes them a perfect make-ahead treat, much like our favorite German Chocolate Brownies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! They are a great make-ahead dessert. They need to cool completely anyway, so making them a day in advance is perfect. They also freeze very well.
Yes, you can substitute the all-purpose flour with a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour blend and use certified gluten-free rolled oats to make a gluten-free version of Salt River Bars.
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to one week. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Salt River Bars are a decadent dessert bar made with a buttery oatmeal cookie base, a gooey filling of sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and nuts, and a crumble topping made from the same oatmeal mixture.
They have a wonderful multi-layered texture. The base is soft and chewy, the filling is rich and gooey, and the topping is slightly crisp and crumbly.
Tried This Recipe? Share Your Creation!
There’s nothing better than creating a dessert that brings smiles to everyone’s faces. These Salt River Bars are sure to become a staple in your recipe collection. If you loved these, you might also enjoy our incredible Turtle Poke Cake.
Did you make this recipe? We’d love to see it! Tag us in your photos and be sure to share it on Pinterest!
Salt River Bars Recipe
Salt River Bars: The Ultimate Gooey Caramel & Chocolate Oat Bar Recipe
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan, or line it with parchment paper with an overhang.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- Pour in the melted butter and stir until the mixture is crumbly. Press half of this mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Sprinkle the chocolate chips and chopped nuts evenly over the crust. Drizzle the entire can of sweetened condensed milk over the top.
- Crumble the remaining oat mixture evenly over the filling layer.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the edges are bubbling.
- Let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before slicing and serving. For best results, chill for 30 minutes before cutting.
Notes
Parchment Paper Sling: Using parchment paper makes it incredibly easy to lift the bars out of the pan for cutting.
Toast the Nuts: For an enhanced nutty flavor, toast the nuts in a dry skillet for 3-5 minutes before using.
