Ooey Gooey Caramel Pumpkin Blondies

I had these at my friend Ellen's house over Christmas. And then I fell in love. And I came home and searched the internet high and low until I found the recipe. It's from Lauren's Latest. So I made them for girls night. The girls raved. Oh holy yumminess!

3/4 cup butter (softened)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

For the Ooey Gooey Middle

1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 (14 oz) package caramels (unwrapped)
1/4 cup heavy cream

Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9x11 baking dish. In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the pumpkin, vanilla and eggs until fully combined. Add the remaining ingredients one at a time, splitting up the flour into smaller mounts to make sure it is all incorporated well. Spread 2/3 of the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. In a sauce pot combine the caramels and heavy cream. Melt over low heat until smooth. Pour the caramel over the top and spread out but do not let it touch the sides of the dish. Carefully spoon the remaining batter on top and spread as much as possible. It's okay for the caramel to poke through a tiny bit. Bake for 25 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Cool completely before serving.