When we were kids, we always called these “Gunda Bars” named after Grandma Gunda. She called them Caramel Bars, and pretended she didn’t like us calling them Gunda Bars. My dad stopped by her house every Thursday evening after work to check in on his mom, and she always sent him home with fresh baked sweets. She told us that “Norwegien’s need their sweets”, which is ironic since real Norwegian cookies don’t have much sugar. These bars were our favorites. Although I only make them at Christmas, Grandma Gunda made them year round.
I recently found the recipe in Grandma Gunda’s notebook of recipes, written in her handwriting. I was so excited to find it, until I read the name at the bottom, “Peggy”. So these are really Auntie Peggy’s bars and we’ve been giving Grandma Gunda credit for all these years. Then, in the very back of the notebook there were a few clippings that hadn’t been taped in. Sure enough, there was a clipping from Kraft for Chocolate Caramel Bars, or as we know them, Gunda Bars. Oh well, just because they’re not original doesn’t mean they’re not fantastic. These are my kids’ favorites too.
Gunda Bars (Caramel Chocolate Bars)
Ingredients
Chocolate layers:
- 1 German chocolate cake mix
- 1/3 cup evaporated milk from 5 oz. can
- ½ cup melted butter
Fill layer:
- 1 package Kraft caramels
- 1/3 cup evaporated milk whatever is left in the can
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Stir together ingredients for the chocolate layers, and spread ½ of the mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Pat it down, and bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes.
- Melt caramels and evaporated milk in the microwave for 3 minutes, stirring halfway.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips over the baked bottom layer, then pour melted caramel evenly over the top.
- Form the remaining chocolate layer into small patties and place them gently over the top of the caramel layer. Bake fully assembled bars for 15-18 minutes at 350 degrees.
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.