Chocolate Caramel Oatmeal Bars
These chocolate caramel oatmeal bars (or carmelitas) are delicious cookie bars with a soft oatmeal cookie crust, stuffed with chocolate chips, and gooey caramel. The perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Servings: 12
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (softened, 1 1/2 sticks)
- 1 TBS vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 35 soft caramels (unwrapped - I used Werther's soft caramels)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 or 9x9inch baking pan with parchment paper (2 pieces to wrap up both sides), or foil to cover the sides, then nonstick spray. Set it aside.
- Add the sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl and stir them together.
- Add in the flour, oats, baking soda and salt and stir it together until you have a nice soft cookie dough.
- Press half of the oatmeal cookie mixture into the prepared pan. And set the other half aside.
- Bake the bottom layer for 10 minutes, and remove it from the oven.
- Add the caramels and heavy cream to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each time until you can stir it completely smooth.
- Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the cooked crust.
- Pour the caramel mixture evenly over the chocolate chips and crust.
- Press pieces of the remaining oatmeal cookie dough between your hands to flatten, and place them around the top of the caramel, covering the caramel as much as you can.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake the bars for another 14 to 16 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.
- Remove the bars from the oven and let them cool completely, this may take 3 to 4 hours. If you want to speed up the cooling time, let the pan cool to touch, then add it to the fridge to chill for another hour or two.