How to do it…

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
2. Grease and flour a rectangular pan. If caramels are wrapped, unwrap them. I always hated doing this because it took for-freaking-ever and it was a serious challenge to my willpower because you can't eat them. But I knew what Caramel Layer Squares tasted like. I knew the "caramel" in the title was essential to the experience. So I didn't eat them.
3. Now cook the caramels in the evaporated milk in a pan over the stove on low heat until they are all melted together. You don't have to stand over them and fret, but don't leave them alone for too long. Go back frequently and stir.
4. Wile caramels are melting, combine the cake mix and the melted butter in a bowl. The recipe says "stir until the dough holds together." You'll have a better chance of finding the fountain of youth than stirring this batter. You will need to force this into submission either with a wooden spoon, a plastic spatula or getting your hands in there and bringing it together with your own brute strength. But remember, as your butter is melted, you don't want to pour hot butter into the cake mix and immediately put your hands in there. Be safe! Start by stirring and then if you go that route, graduate to kneading after the butter cools down a bit.
5. Press half of the dough into the bottom of the baking pan and bake for six minutes. Yes, I said six minutes. Why six minutes? Why not five? I don't know. That's just what it says to do and I do what it says. Then you take it out and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the crust and then spread/pour the caramel over all. Don't get to hung up about spreading "over all." Usually, I just pour it from the pot and make sure I get it all around as possible. I then crumble the remaining dough on top. There's a lot of crumble, there's a lot of caramel, there's a lot of chocolate chips. You aren't going to feel cheated and cut out a square that might not have all the goodness of all the rest (that is, unless you eat the caramels whilst unwrapping them). It'll all be good.
6. I suspect if you use nuts, you sprinkle those too, but I wouldn't know because, as I mentioned, I never use nuts.
7. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
8. Cool before eating or don't--either way it is total YUM!