Coconut Caramel Ritz Cracker Magic Bars

  If there is one thing that I learned from this experiment, it would definitely be that sometimes the best things in life come when all you have to work with are Ritz crackers.
  A couple Sundays ago, my family had a need for a treat. There was one major problem- no eggs. That pretty much ruled out seventy-five percent of our options. We decided on magic bars only to discover that we lacked graham crackers, which were necessary for the crust. I stripped the pantry in search of anything I could use to make a dessert. Then, on the very top shelf in an old Ziploc plastic bag I found my inspiration- Ritz crackers!
  Ritz crackers are buttery and salty, and seemed like they would mesh perfectly with chocolate, caramel, and shredded coconut. So, completely on a whim without any real game plan I whipped together a batch of magic bars- Ritz cracker edition! I turned out to be correct; Ritz crackers taste AMAZING with chocolate, caramel, and coconut.
  However, it was not instantly perfect. The final product came out a little too gooey and melted; you couldn't just cut out a piece and eat it like a lemon bar. So I waited. It did not solidify. My next instinct was to put it in the refrigerator for thirty minutes. Still an ooey-gooey mess of chocolatey-caramel magma. Finally, my patience wore thin and I scraped the dessert into a plastic bag, shoved it into the freezer, and forgot about it over night.
  The following evening, we had guests over for dinner. After a lovely meal, my mom pulled the frozen experiment out of the freezer, cut it up into bars, and served it as dessert. I took one bite of the bar and was immediately blown away! My genius dessert was saved by the freezer, and we finished it off that night.
  Over all, it was definitely a success.  A weird success, but nevertheless a success! I will totally be making these again; the salty-sweet, chocolatey-caramel coconut yumminess is exactly what I want in a dessert. First time I have ever really invented a baking recipe, so I'm glad it turned out and I hope you like it!!

Coconut Caramel Ritz Cracker Magic Bars

1 1/2 cups Ritz Cracker crumbs

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup shredded coconut flakes

1 cup melted caramel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (convection bake, if possible). Mix the butter, cracker crumbs, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Press into a 1/2 thick crust along the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 12 minutes. Spread the chocolate chips evenly over the crust, sprinkle on coconut flakes, pour sweetened condensed milk over the top, stick back in the oven for 20 minutes. Next, bring out of the oven and drizzle caramel over the top. Freeze or refrigerate over night. Enjoy!