These delicious Carmelitas have layers of oatmeal crust, chocolate chips, and creamy caramel sauce—the perfect combination of flavors.
I have a feeling this Carmelita recipe is going to wow your family and friends. The bars are ooey-gooey with chocolate and caramel layers and the best soft oatmeal cookie crust—a dessert bar dream made into reality. I can’t wait for you to try them.
Caramel goes well with anything, but these carmelitas are one of my family’s favorite ways to eat it. I mean, who can resist layers of chocolate and caramel?
My Favorite Kitchen Tools To Make This Recipe
From trusty pots and pans to handy gadgets, I’ve curated a list of products I use and love.
This is mainly because we love oatmeal and chocolate, so having three of our favorite ingredients in one recipe will be a winner.
If you’ve never tried them, caramelitas are a dessert bar with a signature gooeyness that is so incredibly good. We love them warm with a big scoop of ice cream, but they pair equally well with a cold glass of milk.
This recipe is for you if you love oatmeal cookies, chocolate, and caramel. Not surprisingly, my kids give these rave reviews, primarily when I serve them with caramel sauce on the side for dunking.
You will give these carmelitas a rave review, too, I’m sure! They are seriously the best sweet treat to finish a meal.
Ingredients
- Unwrapped caramel squares
- Heavy cream
- Coarse sea salt
- Melted butter
- Brown sugar
- Flour
- Rolled oats
- Baking soda
- Semisweet chocolate chips
Carmelitas layers
The first layer of Carmelitas is the oatmeal layer, a combination of butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. This is the base of the recipe, a delicious one at that.
The second layer consists of chocolate—a single layer of chocolate chips. You can use any chocolate you have on hand, but I prefer semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips.
The caramel layer is what gives this dessert bar its name. The caramel layer is simply caramel candies and heavy cream, which makes a creamy delicious caramel sauce.
I can’t get over how gorgeous and insanely delicious these bars are. Top the bars off with leftover crumbles from the bottom layers. Then bake.
Carmelitas Tips
Every bite of these decadent bars is filled with chocolate and caramel, which pairs wonderfully with the oatmeal cookie crust to make the best Carmelitas ever. Give them a try, and you’ll see—everyone will love them!
Pair this With…
Pin To Pinterest For Later.
Carmelitas
Ingredients
- 32 caramel squares unwrapped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 3/4 cup butter melted
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. This recipe makes an 8×8 pan; if you want to double the recipe you can use a 9×13 pan. Spray the pan with oil and line with parchment paper.
- Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth, add sea salt, and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Measure out 1/2 cup and set aside for later. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the 8"x8" pan
- Bake oatmeal mixture for 10 minutes then remove from oven.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture on chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture on top.
- Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.
- *A stint in the fridge will help them cool if you’re pinched 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.
I bet these are yummy! Pinning to my dessert page. I hope to make these over the holidays.
Theresa – great holiday give aways, can’t wait to see what projects you post this holiday season. xoxo San
I LOVE Carmelitas! I made some last Fall/Winter and I need to try them again! I’ll have to compare my recipe with this one- they look beautiful!
Nicole – I always love trying new recipes too -so be sure to pass it on. San
Love caramel! pinning these to try later 🙂
I’ve never heard of these and I am a caramel lover! Pinned to my cookie monster board!
If this is your dessert moving forward, I definitely have to try it. Just pinned it to my sweet treats board, yum!
Love anything caramel, pinned it for you….
I love carmelitas! thanks for sharing, i’ll have to try your recipe 🙂 http://www.handmadeintheheartland.com/
Yum these sound good. I like rolled oats in desserts because I can always tell myself that makes it nutritious 🙂 Visit from Talking Tuesday.
Just wanted to let you know we will be featuring this at Talking Tuesday.
Mary Ellen I am so excited! Thank you! Can’t wait till the link party.
You really are a girl after my own heart. All of your recipes are hitting it out of the ball park with me! I am much more a caramel girl than a chocolate. Love this and pinning it also. It’s easy to see why you are a caterer. Lots of good recipes! I love to cook, but rarely post about it. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Thank you for the nice recipe.
Holy schnikes! These are delicious.
Such a perfect dessert, I know everyone will love them!
Oh my gosh I love this. Anything caramel and I am in love!
These Carmelitas would disappear in our house!
WOW!! I am drooling over these! They are amazing! A MUST make!
I am loving these! They are incredibly delicious!
These bars are so mouthwatering! I am sure it will be our new favorite treat!
Love these so much, so rich and gooey! Bonus: My dog’s name is Carmella! 🙂
i wanna taste it as soon as possible!
I love Carmelitas They are the perfect dessert! !!!
These bars look absolutely delicious! It will undoubtedly become our new favorite treat!
These Carmelitas sound absolutely divine! I can almost taste the gooey layers of caramel and chocolate mingling with the soft oatmeal cookie crust. Can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
Wow, these Carmelitas are definitely going on my must-make list! I can already imagine the delightful combination of flavors and textures. Plus, who can resist a dessert that pairs perfectly with both ice cream and milk? Count me in!
I love how versatile this Carmelitas recipe is! Whether you’re a fan of oatmeal cookies, chocolate, or caramel (or all three!), these bars have something for everyone. Plus, the addition of a caramel sauce for dunking takes them to the next level of indulgence. Can’t wait to bake up a batch!
I have never had caramelitas in my life, but I made these last night, and I’m going to be making up for lost time for sure!
The kids were obsessed with these, they devoured it in no time! The combination of chocolate and caramel was divine, especially when you dunked it in a cold glass of milk! For sure, we’ll be making these again and again!
Never tried these before and they were an absolute hit! Thank you so much for sharing!
Your Carmelitas are out of this world! They were so gooey and delicious. I loved how easy they were to make, and they disappeared quickly at our gathering.
These are incredibly sweet and yummy. You just can’t go wrong with caramel and chocolate.
These Carmelitas are irresistibly delicious with layers of oatmeal crust, chocolate chips, and creamy caramel sauce, creating a perfect blend of flavors and textures in every bite.
I made these last night, and the kids devoured them for dessert and breakfast this morning. All that chocolate and caramel is so good!