Carmelitas

5 from 6 votes

These Carmelitas are rich, gooey dessert bars with a buttery oatmeal crust layered with melted chocolate and sweet caramel—an easy, crowd-pleasing treat.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bars, caramel

Servings:

Calories: 461kcal

Author: Misty Tannery

Equipment

Ingredients

11 ounce soft caramels unwrapped
3 ounces heavy cream
¾ cup butter softened, 1 ½ sticks
¾ cup light brown sugar packed
1 ¼ cups flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cup semi sweet chocolate chips milk chocolate works as well

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 8x8-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal later.
In a microwave safe bowl combine the unwrapped caramels and heavy cream. Microwave in 30-40 second increments until caramels are softened and stirring at every interval. Once the caramels are softened the cream will then mix in really well with several stirs. Do not microwave until boiling. This will scorch the caramels. (Another option is doing this on the stove over medium high heat.)
Set aside to slightly cool and thicken.
In a large bowl, mix together the room temperature butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt using a hand mixer until a thick dough forms. I also like to us my hands towards the end to really combine that dough evenly.
Divide the dough in half and press half of it into the prepared pan. Bake this base for 8 minutes, then remove from the oven. Immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the crust and then pour the melted and slightly cooled caramel over the chocolate chips. Using a spreader gently smooth into an even layer.
Crumble the remaining dough mixture over the caramel layer avoiding pressing it down.
Bake for another 15-18 minutes until the edges are lightly browned and the top is set.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours before cutting into bars. A pop in the fridge for 30 minutes helps this set as well.
Store in an airtight container container for 2-4 days.

Notes

For the easiest cutting allow those bars to cool for 2 hours. This will help with cutting even squares.

Nutrition