Best Dang Thing EVER Bars

My sister B was in town for the long weekend and we decided to spend her first day in town shopping all day. It’s always a blast to shop with her because we both have very different tastes, but we get each other to try on things we never would otherwise. And we both always come home with a ton of bags. I usually take a picture of the stuffed trunk, but forgot to this year…

For the second day she was in town, we decided bake together. I love it when she comes to visit because we always have a great time. We talk almost daily and it’s good to be able to talk to her in person instead of over the phone/email/texting. These bars are her favorite and she knows the recipe by heart. In fact, the whole family loves these things. What else would you expect with a name like Best Dang Thing Ever Bars!?!

I finally got the story out of B about where that name came from… When B was a freshmen in college, she had to give a speech that was a demo. Of course, she decided to demo making these bars. She ended the speech with something like “and that is how you make the best dang thing you’ve ever tasted bars”. She even brought in some of the finished product to share with her class. Of course they agreed that these bars really are one of the best things you’ve ever tasted.

I’m not sure exactly where this recipe comes from, since my mom had clipped it out from a magazine or something and it was just in her pile of recipes since forever. We never made this when I was young, but ever since B went to college, we make these every year when we’re together at the holidays. They’re very rich and chocolatey, so we always cut them into small bars. Have a glass of milk ready when you serve these!

I am submitting this recipe for the blogging event Family Recipes hosted by The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch and The Spiced Life. To enter, make a recipe that is a family recipe and talk about memories connected with it.

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Best Dang Thing EVER bars

Yield: 36 bars

Ingredients:

1 package German chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup softened butter
1 egg

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 package (14 ounces) caramels

3/4 cup toasted chopped pecans
1/2 cup chocolate ready-to-spread frosting
3-4 tsp water

Directions:

Heat oven to 350.

Mix cake mix (dry), softened butter, and egg until crumbly; reserve 1 1/2 cups. Press remaining crumbly mixture in ungreased rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches.

Bake until crust appears dry, 10 to 12 minutes; cool 10 minutes.

Heat butter, milk, and caramels over low heat, stirring occasionally, until caramels are melted. (We do this while the crumbly mixture is baking). Pour over crust; sprinkle with nuts and reserved crumbly mixture.

Bake until crumbly mixture appears dry and begins to brown, 25 to 30 minutes; cool.

Make glaze by mixing frosting with water one teaspoon at a time until desired consistency.

Drizzle with glaze. Loosen edges of bars with spatula; refrigerate until caramel mixture becomes firm, about 1 hour. Cut into bars, 2x1 1/2 inches.

Recipe from my family - no idea where the original recipe is from...

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15 Responses to “It’s a boy! Dipped Oreo Pops”

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    1
    Cupcake Activist — May 13, 2010 at 6:08 pm

    Cute idea and they look so easy to make. Must try.

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    Cupcake Activist — May 13, 2010 at 6:08 pm

    And the stick makes them perfect for milk dipping.

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    jess @ pen n' paperflowers — May 13, 2010 at 6:48 pm

    oh my…i’ve tried my hand at these and just about every oreo ended up cracking when i tried to insert the stick. *frowny face* not even dipping the sticks first seemed to help? do you have any suggestions on how to slide them in without any hiccups. *wink*
    thank you SO much for your help…yours came out adorable!

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    We Are Not Martha — May 13, 2010 at 7:30 pm

    Wow, these are such a great favor idea! They look easy, but impressive (and delicious)!

    Sues

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    Sarah — May 13, 2010 at 8:19 pm

    I am loving all of these new parents/new baby posts, because friends of ours just had a baby boy last week and I can just do everything you’re doing! 🙂

    Jess@pen – are you using Double Stuffed Oreos? If you’re using regular Oreos, maybe the center isn’t thick enough to support the lollipop stick between the cookie ends. Or maybe the lollipop stick isn’t thin enough (do they even make different sizes?). Just thinking out loud. Good luck. 🙂

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    Jen — May 13, 2010 at 9:11 pm

    jen@pen – I agree with Sarah, be sure to use double stuff Oreos and thin sticks. You’ll notice that the craft store has at least two thicknesses of sticks. You want the thinnest ones. I did slide the sticks in slowly but didn’t have any issues with breaking cookies.

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    Kara — May 13, 2010 at 10:26 pm

    Why must this kind of thing be posted when I’m trying to lose weight? 😉

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    Kim @ Frost Me! — June 8, 2010 at 10:37 pm

    YUM! I love the idea of doing the initial on them!

    Kim @ http://frostmeblog.blogspot.com
    party inspiration

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    Shawnda — February 22, 2013 at 2:05 am

    Just choose to tell you a piece of writing is really as awesome. All of the picture quality in your own place is definitely fascinating and are able to feel you’re an experienced for this idea. Fantastic along with your agreement i can to seize ones give food to to continue modified together with upcoming publish. Thx one million and you need to maintain this worthwhile succeed.

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    facebook.com — August 8, 2013 at 12:54 pm

    Awesome post.

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    Pam — February 23, 2014 at 5:19 pm

    How far ahead can you make these and will the Oreo get soggy ?

    • beantownbaker — February 23rd, 2014 @ 8:45 pm

      We made them a week in advance and the Oreos did not get soggy.

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    Christina — March 23, 2014 at 8:58 pm

    I can totally see the hiccups @jess, the Double Stuf Oreos have a far more thin and brittle cookie than the original Oreos. They crumble, split and crack very easily, I would imagine irregardless of stuffing volume, the structural integrity of the original Oreo cookie would hold up better for this project.

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    13
    Lana — January 29, 2016 at 3:40 am

    Can u freeze them?

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    Leah — October 11, 2022 at 7:26 pm

    Hi just wanted to say I have made these every year since 2009 when you posted them, still love them just as much!

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