Carmelitas are rich dessert bars with gooey caramel, melted chocolate, and a buttery oat crumble topping. Easy to make and perfect for any occasion!
A GOOEY DESSERT BAR RECIPE
Have you ever had a Carmelita? If you like caramel and chocolate then you will adore these! They are the ultimate ooey-gooey dessert bar! Caramelitas are super indulgent and have layers of buttery oatmeal crumble sandwiching melted chocolate and a simple homemade caramel sauce. These bars are slightly chewy and are the perfect rich dessert to whip up for holidays, gatherings or potlucks. Watch how fast they fly!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
These bars are rich, caramely, and chocolatey, the base and top have a slight crunch and caramel oatmeal cookie flavor. They are soft and gooey.
Kraft brand 11 ounce caramel bits were used for this recipe.
Yes! Waiting a couple hours for them to cool completely is vital before cutting them, as they would be extremely messy if you do not wait. You can also chill them in the fridge if you’d like, but still please wait at least two hours before slicing into them to prevent a mess.
I haven’t tried it with the jarred sauce yet, but I suppose you could try it. It may be too thin for this recipe, but it may work out. If you experiment, please let me know how ti goes!
These Carmelita bars are super gooey. They can be really sticky if you are just eating them with your hands. If you have a sensory issue or don’t like sticky fingers, grab a fork when digging in to these treats. Keep them chilled in the refrigerator – this will help it be less gooey.
I know some people just don’t like oats in their desserts because of the texture that they bring. But honestly, I don’t have a substitute on what you can use in place of them because they really help hold the base layer together and I can’t think of anything else that would work just as well.
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5-6 days.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- salted butter– You can use unsalted butter if that’s what you have on hand. Just add about 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
- packed light brown sugar – I have not tested this with white sugar. I suppose it would work but I haven’t personally tested it out.
- all purpose flour
- old fashioned oats – I have not made this without oatmeal. I am sure you could but I haven’t tested it to be able to tell you how it would turn out. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes! You could also use quick cooking oats.
- baking soda
- vanilla extract
- caramel bits – you can buy the individually wrapped caramel pieces – you’ll need 11 ounces. The caramel bits are so much easier and even I can find them in my small town. They are a lot more readily available than they used to be.
- heavy cream
- semi sweet chocolate chips – if you want this sweeter, you could use milk chocolate but I think they’re pretty sweet as is so I would stick with the semi sweet.
HOW TO MAKE CARMELITAS
Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Stir together the melted butter, sugar, and vanilla, then add in the flour, oats, and baking soda and stir well to make a dough.
Press half of the mixture into your baking dish and bake for ten minutes.
While the base is baking, melt the caramels and heavy cream in a medium saucepan until all of the caramels are melted, this can take about 7 to 10 minutes on medium to low heat, do not use high heat.
Once the base is done baking, sprinkle the chocolate chips onto the warm base layer. Then pour on the caramel sauce.
Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture on top.
Bake on the middle rack for 20 to 25 minutes, let cool completely (at least 2 1/2 hours) before cutting into 9 slices to enjoy. You can pop them into the refrigerator to help them cool quicker.
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- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- The parchment paper just makes it easier to remove and slice after they are cooled. You can spray with nonstick cooking spray but it’ll be just a bit more tricky to slice and serve.
Calories: 516kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 24g | Sodium: 237mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 48g
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
