Chocolate Chip Celebration Bars

I was going to a New Year's Day party (yes, I am a bit late with the posting...this dessert is loooong gone) and I decided that I wanted to make something out of a Nestle Toll House cookbook I was given for Christmas (which by the way, has a strangely large amount of savory recipes). There were lot of fun ideas, but I had gotten it into my head that I wanted something festive and fun and easy to eat with one hand. Flipping through the book, their Confetti Bars jumped out at me. I mean, how much more festive and fun do you get? Plus, look at all of that chocolate! Nothing's better than melty chocolate...

I decided they were my winner, but I adapted them a bit to suit my idea of delicious. Mostly importantly I make the cookie bar itself from scratch as I am not much for pre-made cookie dough. They used marshmallow which looked nice, but I thought along with everything else it might be a bit weird/much. Instead I thought chocolate and caramel would be a good addition  I mean, chocolate and caramel with chocolate chip cookie (bars)...yes, clearly.

Chocolate Chip Celebration Bars
How I Did It:

For the bars:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 vanilla
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the topping:
20 milk chocolate covered pretzels
1 1/2 cups Rolo Caramels, quartered
1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tbsp rainbow sprinkles (can use more than one type)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x13" pan and set aside.

2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a larger bowl, mix together butter and sugar. Stir together well. Add in eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla.

4. Slowly mix in dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add in chocolate chips, stiring to distribute evenly.

5. Pour into pan and spread out evenly. Bake until almost done (about 15-20 minutes) and quickly add the chopped up Rolos and finish baking. The bars should be golden brown just around the edges and just barely set.

6. Remove from the oven and immediately top with chocolate covered pretzels, and then the mini chips and rainbow sprinkles. Cool before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.