With so many things having changed over the past few months, we’re trying to hold on to every aspect of our “normal” lives that we can. Now that summer is in full swing, that means heading out for a picnic each weekend.

While we haven’t been able to invite friends and family along, we have been keeping it fun by pulling out old family recipes we haven’t made in years. These Caramel Pecan Dream Bars are one of my favorites.

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Vaguely reminiscent of pecan pie and richly delicious, Caramel Pecan Dream Bars make a great picnic dessert. You can easily pull them together, and you don’t have to worry about them falling apart during transportation or keeping them in a cooler.

These bars can be a little gooey, so I like to serve them on small wax paper squares. My aunt also taught me a trick to get nice clean edges on the bars: instead of cutting them with a sharp metal knife, use a disposable plastic knife. It works on brownies too!

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Caramel Pecan Dream Bars

Ingredients

• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1/3 cup margarine, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 14 oz can condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Heath Bits O’ Brickle English Toffee Baking Bits

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350◦. Grease a 9 x 13-inch metal cake pan.
• Using an electric mixer on medium, beat the cake mix, margarine, and one of the eggs in a large bowl until crumbly. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, then firmly press into an even layer across the bottom with your hand.
• Add the condensed milk, the remaining egg, and the vanilla to another large bowl. Beat with the mixer on medium until fully combined. Fold in the pecans and baking bits.
• Pour the milk mixture over the base in the pan and smooth it into an even layer with a rubber scraper. Bake just until the top is golden and set (it will no longer jiggle), about 25 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into bars.