Decadent Sweet Chewy Turtle Bars (Printable)

Buttery oat crust topped with chocolate chips, pecans, and caramel swirls. These chewy golden squares deliver rich, indulgent bites with perfect sweet and salty balance.

# What You'll Need:

→ Crust & Topping

01 - 1 cup all-purpose flour
02 - 1 cup rolled oats
03 - 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
04 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
05 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
06 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
07 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

→ Filling

08 - 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
09 - 1 cup chopped pecans

→ Caramel Layer

10 - 1 cup caramel sauce
11 - 1/4 cup heavy cream

# How-To Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x9-inch baking pan with butter or line with parchment paper.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, melted butter, salt, and baking soda. Mix until crumbly.
03 - Reserve 1 cup of crumb mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture evenly into bottom of prepared pan to form crust.
04 - Bake crust for 10 minutes until slightly golden.
05 - In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine caramel sauce and heavy cream. Stir constantly until smooth and well combined. Remove from heat.
06 - Remove crust from oven. Evenly sprinkle chocolate chips over warm crust, then sprinkle chopped pecans on top.
07 - Pour warm caramel sauce evenly over chocolate and pecans.
08 - Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture evenly over caramel layer.
09 - Return pan to oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until topping is golden brown.
10 - Remove from oven and cool completely in pan on wire rack. Once cooled, cut into squares.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The crumbly oat topping bakes into golden clusters that stay chewy for days, giving you texture in every bite.
  • Caramel seeps into every crevice, binding chocolate and pecans into gooey pockets that stretch when you pull a square apart.
  • You can make these bars ahead and hide them in a tin, though they rarely last more than two days once people know they exist.
02 -
  • Do not skip the 10-minute pre-bake for the crust, or it will turn soggy under the weight of the caramel and toppings.
  • Let the bars cool completely before cutting, even though it's tempting, because the caramel needs time to set or you'll end up with a gooey mess on your knife.
  • If your caramel sauce is too thick to pour, add an extra tablespoon of cream and warm it gently until it loosens.
03 -
  • Line your pan with parchment paper and leave a two-inch overhang on two sides so you can lift the whole slab out and cut it on a cutting board instead of wrestling with a pan.
  • For an extra indulgent finish, drizzle melted chocolate over the cooled bars in thin lines and let it set before serving.
  • Toast your pecans in a dry skillet for three minutes before adding them to intensify their flavor and make the bars taste more expensive than they are.
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