Recipe adapted from Let’s Dish
So this just happens to be my third chocolate/caramel combination dessert in a row. Completely unplanned I promise, but definitely not a bad coincidence. This combination is almost as delicious as chocolate and peanut butter, but let’s be serious here, nothing can really beat that!
Do you ever look at a recipe and think “oh my goodness I MUST try that”? Lately that happens to me more and more, and this was one of those recipes. I love oatmeal. I love chocolate. I love caramel. The stars aligned people, and these are absolutely heaven!
I added cinnamon to this recipe because
a. to me you just can’t have oatmeal without cinnamon, and
b. cinnamon makes almost everything taste better.
Danelle originally adapted these to make a 9×13 pan. Once I started putting things together I thought the bottom layer was a little too thin and didn’t leave much for the topping (I didn’t eat that much I swear), so I multiplied everything by 1.5. I also didn’t have a full bag of caramels so I just used what I had left. I left out the nuts in this recipe because I am not a huge fan, but if you wanted to add nuts you certainly could (just click on the link to see the original recipe).
I am always asking Derek to rank things and pick his favorite, which he absolutely hates (I’ve already warned him that he needs to make a top 10 list for an end of the year post). Without even being asked, the first words out of his mouth after sampling these were “top 5 for sure”, and I have to agree. Enjoy!
Oatmeal Carmelitas
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2 1/4 cups butter (4.5 sticks), very soft but not melted)
3 cups flour
3 cups quick cooking oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup flour
32 caramels (about 3/4 of a bag)
Just under 1/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized bowl combine together the first seven ingredients. This works best with a pastry cutter but a spoon can be used as well. Mixture should be crumbly. Press half of this mixture into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes then remove from oven. While baking, stir together chocolate chips and flour and set aside. Combine the caramels and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently once the caramels start melting. Sprinkle chocolate chips and flour over crust, then pour caramel mixture on top of chocolate chips. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top, return to oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.
