Soft and chewy oatmeal cookie layers stuffed with melty chocolate chips and ooey gooey caramel!
Caramelitas have been on my “To Bake” list for quite some time now, and I regret that it took me so flippin’ long to make them. They’re probably one of the most heavenly treats I’ve ever had. And that’s saying A LOT seeing as I’ve devoured about a baJillian different treats in my lifetime already.
So what are Caramelitas?
Well, aside from being one of the most deliciously mouthwatering treats in the world, they’re basically an oatmeal cookie bar that’s stuffed with a layer of chocolate chips and caramel sauce. They’re enough to make ANYone fall to their knees in pure ecstasy after one blissful bite.
I mean, just LOOK at these squares of buttery, brown sugary, ooey gooey, rich chocolatey, caramelicious goodness…
These Caramelitas were one of the most difficult treats to photograph. Not because they looked bad, but because they looked so DAMN GOOD. My mouth would NOT stop watering throughout the entire photo shoot. Thank God I held off though because these are some of the most tantalizing photos I’ve ever taken.
Like most cookie bar recipes, these Caramelitas come together in no time at all. The first thing you start with is the dough. Simply combine all of the dry ingredients–all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and oats–in one bowl. When it comes to oatmeal cookies, I prefer a blend of old-fashioned rolled oats and quick cook oats. Rolled oats provide a heartier, chewier texture, while quick oats give the cookie a softer bite. Rolled oats are more flavorful than quick oats, which is why I use a higher ratio of rolled oats.
The next step is to cream the butter and brown sugar together. Although most oatmeal cookie recipes call for a mix of granulated and brown sugar, I opted for ALL brown sugar since its molasses flavor complements the oats so well.
After the egg and vanilla are incorporated into the butter mixture, the dry ingredients are added. Now you have your dough! Press half of it into the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish that’s been lined with parchment paper. Trust me, you’ll definitely want to use the parchment paper. It makes it SO much easier to remove and slice these sticky-licious squares of heaven.
Once you’ve spread the dough out evenly, bake it in the oven for 10 minutes. During this time, you can make the caramel sauce. All you have to do is place 11 ounces of unwrapped caramels into a medium saucepan along with a half cup of heavy cream. Cook this mixture over medium-high heat until everything is smooth and melted.
By the time you’ve finished making the caramel sauce, it should be time to take the pan out of the oven. Take it out, and immediately sprinkle a cup of chocolate chips evenly over the oatmeal cookie layer. You can either use dark or milk chocolate chips. I went with dark chocolate chips since they’re not as sweet, seeing as these bars contain a THICC layer of caramel.
Speaking of caramel…
After the chocolate chips are sprinkled on top, the caramel sauce is drizzled over everything. Make sure you get a nice even layer.
The final step is to add the last half of the oatmeal cookie dough. I’ve found that the best way to do this is to take a piece of dough, smash it flat with your fingers, and then place it on top of the caramel layer. Like a puzzle, you’ll place each flattened piece next to to each other until you’ve used up all of the dough. Oh! And greased hands are definitely recommended during the step!
The bars go in the oven for about 13-15 more minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Once out of the oven, you’ll have to wait AT LEAST 4 hours before cutting into them. In fact, I recommend baking these bars up the night before, and then slicing into them the next day. The caramel sauce needs a lot of time to cool COMPLETELY and set. Thus, if you’re not patient enough, you’ll end up with a pool of caramel surrounding your bars.
I baked these Caramelitas the night before, and they looked PERFECT when it came time to slice them the next morning. They still looked extra gooey in the middle and the chocolate was nice and soft.
And if you prefer an even gooey-ER experience, just heat a piece in the microwave for about 10 seconds.
THIS is what you’ll end up with…
PURE HEAVEN…
Caramelitas
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup quick oats
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 (11 oz) package caramels, unwrapped
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF, and lightly grease an 8-inch square pan with non-stick cooking spray. Line with parchment paper leaving extra overhang on the sides for easy removal.
- In a separate bowl combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together until smooth and lightened. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until combined. Add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Spread half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, smooth it out into an even layer; set remaining dough aside. Bake for 10 minutes.
- While the bottom layer bakes, make the caramel sauce. Place the caramels and heavy cream into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat. Stirring constantly, cook mixture until melted and completely smooth.
- After 10 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly on top. Drizzle the caramel sauce evenly over the chocolate.
- Take the remaining dough, and evenly crumble it over the top.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake for about 13-15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.
- Let bars cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving to allow the caramel to firm up. This can take around 4 hours, or overnight, at room temperature. You can speed up the cooling process by placing them in the refrigerator. If not allowed to cool completely, you'll end up with a sticky caramel mess. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing...