Many months ago I was skimming through the TV channels and came across a show on The Food Network that caught my eye that I had never seen before.... but the girl looked oddly familiar! As I was trying to figure out how I knew her, the recipe she was making drew me in. That recipe was for.... Carmelitas! They looked every bit of yummy, ooey gooey, deliciousness, and I wanted to make them right away.
I bought everything I needed to make them, including the homemade caramel sauce that the recipe called for, and I was so excited to make the gooey bars when the unthinkable happened.
I. burnt. it.
Boo! I did not have enough ingredients to make another batch of the caramel, so I tabled the idea for the moment. I pinned a couple of different recipes for the bars as I came across them on Pinterest, and I have been dying to give it another go. Lucky for me though, my hubby browsed my Pinterest boards and surprised me by making them for me!
So, here they are. So utterly delicious, my mouth waters just thinking about them. And this recipe? The caramel sauce is a shortcut! No worries about burning it unless, well, you suck in the kitchen. I have confidence you will do just fine though.
Carmelitas:
32 caramel squares, unwrapped
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Combine the caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 8x8" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.
*Placing them in the fridge will help them cool off if you're in a pinch for time. They shouldn't be served cold, but all of that molten caramel takes a long time to cool down. They should be stored and served at room temperature.
*To make a 9x13" version, simply double the amounts.
*If you want to use homemade or store-bought caramel sauce in place of the caramel/cream mixture, use 1 1/4 cups of sauce.
Recipe from Lulu The Baker.
Go make them now! You will not be disappointed.
