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Carmelitas

May 7, 2016

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Three Carmelitas stacked on top of each other.

OH BOY, I hope you guys are ready for these!  These Carmelitas are going to steal your heart and lock it away forever.  And the best thing is they are super easy to make!  They are basically caramel and chocolate sandwiched between two buttery oatmeal cookie layers…

A wood bowl of the melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda, with a wooden spoon in it.

But all you really need to know is that they are AMAZING!

Two step pictures - the first showing the melted butter being poured into the bowl of brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda and the second is of all those ingredients mixed together.

I tasted these a few years ago at a ladies lunch at church a few years ago and kind of forgot about them until I saw them on Pinterest (from The Baker Upstairs, who got them from Lulu the Baker) and pretty much HAD to make them right away.  Luckily, we had family coming over the next day for an early Mother’s Day celebration, so I had plenty of people to share them with.

Caramel in a sauce pan with a spatula.

What I LOVE about Carmelitas!

  1. You can make the oatmeal cookie layers in one bowl by hand.
  2. You can take a short cut and buy the bag of “caramel bits” instead of unwrapping caramels.
  3. You can make them a couple of days ahead, and they still taste soft, gooey, and delicious!  You can even freeze them for later.
A parchment paper lined baking pan with the bottom layer of the oatmeal mixture in it, sitting on a cutting board with a small bowl of chocolate chips, with the sauce pan of caramel and the bowl of the remaining oatmeal mixture next to the cutting board.
Two step pictures - the first showing the chocolate chips spread on top of the oatmeal mixture crust, and the second showing the caramel being poured on top of the chocolate chip layer.

Maybe make these for your Mother’s Day gathering?  They are definitely a crowd pleaser! Or send someone a gentle little note requesting that they make them for you?

Carmelitas cut into squares on a cutting board.

Either way, they’ll make your day that much sweeter!

Three Carmelitas stacked on top of each other.

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #lovelylittlekitchen

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Carmelitas

  • Author: Julie
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 16 bars 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Super easy to make and always a crowd pleaser! Soft, gooey and delicious!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 32 caramel squares, unwrapped or 11 ounces caramel bits
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3/4 cup salted butter, melted
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed (I used dark brown, but light is fine too)
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 by 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper for easy removal later.
  2. Add the caramels and cream to a small saucepan over medium low heat. Stir until completely smooth and then set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of an 8 by 8 inch baking pan.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel evenly over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and the caramel is bubbly.
  5. Remove from oven and allow it cool for several hours before cutting, or chill in the fridge. At room temperature, they will be soft and gooey and absolutely delicious!

Notes

I found the recipe for these cookie bars on Pinterest from The Baker Upstairs, who got the recipe from Lulu The Baker.


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Bar
  • Calories: 326
  • Sugar: 22g
  • Sodium: 193mg
  • Fat: 21g
  • Saturated Fat: 13g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 6.6g
  • Trans Fat: 0.6g
  • Carbohydrates: 35g
  • Fiber: 1.7g
  • Protein: 3g
  • Cholesterol: 44mg

Keywords: carmelitas, carmelitas recipe, cookie bars, caramel, chocolate, easy

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Share a photo and tag us — we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

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Filed Under: Bars, Cookies, Dessert

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Comments

  1. Keith @ How's it Lookin? says

    May 7, 2016 at 6:17 pm

    They look so good. I love anything with caramel, thanks for the idea

    Reply
    • Julie says

      May 8, 2016 at 6:48 am

      Me too, Keith! Hope you get the chance to try them!

      Reply
  2. Thalia @ butter and brioche says

    May 7, 2016 at 7:25 pm

    I haven’t ever tried caramelita bars before but I sure love anything buttery and caramely. Love the photos.

    Reply
    • Julie says

      May 8, 2016 at 6:47 am

      You should definitely give these a go Thalia. I think you’d love them!

      Reply
  3. Aruna says

    May 9, 2016 at 12:10 am

    I live in Mumbai. Where do I source caramel bits to make Carmelitas,the recipe sounds very yummy.

    Reply
    • Julie says

      May 9, 2016 at 7:56 am

      Hi Aruna, Here is a link to that product on Amazon. Hope that helps!
      http://www.amazon.com/Kraft-Caramel-Bits-11-Ounce/dp/B00Z9YSN1K/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1462805793&sr=8-1&keywords=caramel+bits

      Reply
  4. Chris Scheuer says

    May 10, 2016 at 8:09 am

    These look AMAZING. I’d be afraid to be in the house alone with them 🙂 I’d have to make sure lots of company was coming!

    Reply
    • Julie says

      May 11, 2016 at 8:08 am

      Exactly! Thanks Chris!

      Reply
  5. Debbe Fox says

    May 13, 2016 at 9:14 pm

    Made these for dessert tonight. Very good, but very rich. Cut it into 12 bars and should have done the recommended 16! I had a sugar high when I was done!

    Reply
    • Julie says

      May 14, 2016 at 7:58 pm

      Glad you liked them, and yes, a little dab will do ya!

      Reply
  6. Christine says

    June 6, 2016 at 10:36 am

    Surprisingly easy to make. These bars are delicious! Very sweet, so grab a big glass of milk. I refrigerated these after they cooled, just to help them hold together better. At room temperature these are so oooey and gooey, not that that’s bad, I just didn’t want them that messy.

    Seriously, no matter what y’all are doing, stop doing it, go gather the ingredients, and make these! YUM!!!!

    Reply
    • Julie says

      June 6, 2016 at 11:48 am

      Hi Christine, so glad you liked these too! Totally agree with your description of them!

      Reply
  7. Misty says

    November 26, 2016 at 7:00 pm

    Mine stuck to the parchment paper. So instead of bars i got goop. 🙁

    Reply

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