Carmelitas

"These Carmelitas are a buttery, brown sugar and oats bar with chocolate chips, nuts, and caramel inside. These are a great dessert for a crowd!"

A Carmelita is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill treat. Rather, it is like a buttery oatmeal cookie that swallowed a caramel-filled chocolate bar and then got bibitty-bobitty-booed by the dessert fairy godmother and received an extra dose of deliciousness. Everyone I have ever talked to who has tasted one has proclaimed it to be the most wonderful thing ever. I’m not exaggerating!

I tasted my first Carmelita in the fall of 2010. I entered a game at a school festival... called the "Cake Walk"... I walked up to the ticket booth gave my ticket, stood in line while they read off the rules. "Pick a number and stand on it, while we spin the wheel to reveal the winner! The winner then walks the cake table to pick their winnings! This was going to be easy and fun... if you have't already guessed.. No I had never played this nor heard of it until now... 16.... Number 16! I hear them call my number.. I WON! (This table was so long... it went from one end of the basketball court to the other)... Filled and over loaded with pretty cakes, pies, cookies, scones, muffins, cupcakes, homemade rice crispy treat stacks, scones and more... It was the fall so everything was decorated in fall colors... This one pretty package stuck out to me halfway down the table... A round orange container, with pretty sparkly pumpkins, tied with brown and yellow ribbons, and also tied to it was a handwritten letter in a sealed envelope decorated the same as the pretty container. This was also deffinately handmade. That was the one I wanted... "That ONE!" I said excitedly to the table manager. "I would like that one, please!" She handed me my mysterious container, to which I had no idea what was inside! This was the only item on the table that you couldn't see its contents.. I was so excited to know what was inside, but wanted to wait to open it when I got home. Once I got home I had to know immediately what was in this pretty mysterious container. I opened the letter and read it carefully. "To Whom Who Wins this Package, You have won a delicious homemade batch of Carmelitas! A family recipe, shared for generations with family and friends, and now you! Enjoy your winning treats, cheers to making your own batch and continuing to share this recipe for years to come! Inside was a recipe card with the original family recipe. FREE downloadable card coming spring 2025!

Wow... this was amazing.. This sweet package called out to me and it was a complete winner! I sunk my teeth right into one of those little bars of caramel, chocolaty, gooey chewy goodness... I didn't want to share them! I grabbed a glass of milk, another bar and headed to the couch to relax and enjoy my new favorite dessert!

How have I never had or even heard about these before!!??? I liked them so much that I... with a little help.... (VERY LITTLE...) 🫣🤏🏼 ate the whole container in two days. Just me... minus three bars... the whole conatiner. Two days. And I liked it…obviously! So what are you waiting for.... GO MAKE SOME!

Carmelitas

Servings – 9 Prep Time – 10 Minutes Cook Time – 30 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 cup quick cooking oats, (also works with old-fashioned oats)

• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, (6 ounces)

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans, (optional)

Caramel Sauce - using jarred caramel:

• 1/2 cup high quality caramel ice cream topping, (see note)

• 3 tablespoons flour

Caramel sauce - using caramel candies:

• 34 caramel squares, unwrapped

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 8" or 9" square baking dish or line with parchment pan. An 8" dish will yield slightly thicker bars.

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, oats, sugar, melted butter, baking soda, and salt. Mix to form crumbs.

Divide mixture in half. Press half of the mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes. 

Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts (if using) in an even layer over baked mixture.

Caramel Sauce:

There are two ways to make the caramel sauce.

• If using store bought caramel sauce, in a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons flour with store bought caramel sauce to thicken it.

• If using square caramels, heat caramels and cream in a pot on the stove whisking and stirring until smooth.

Drizzle caramel filling over chocolate chips and nuts. 

Sprinkle remaining oat mixture on top trying to cover most of the caramel. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. (Bake 12-14 minutes if using a 9"x13" pan)

Sprinkle with some kosher salt if desired.

Cool completely before cutting. This takes a really long time. You can speed these up by placing the bars in the fridge.

Serve and store bars at room temperature in an airtight container.

Notes:

This can be doubled and baked in a 9x13 baking dish.I've also made these without adding flour to the caramel mixture. Depending how thick your caramel sauce is you may not have to add the flour.

Nutrition:

Calories: 212 cal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated fat: 1g | Monounsaturated fat: 2g | Trans fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 84mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin c: 1mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg.

"These bars were introduced to me while taking a "Cake Walk" during a school fundraiser event. They were packaged in a pretty decorative container tied with a pretty ribbon and an envelope addressed to the winner. It also included the recipe inside (which I didn't now until I opened the box). The name enticed me, I had never heard of them before so I took a chance... and snatched my winnings. Trust me, there were a box of chocolate fudge frosted brownies with walnuts that I had my eye on the entire round! These little gems instantly made a way into my heart and became a staple for my recipe box! These bars are fabulous. I could not believe that such an easy recipe would be so good."

CWT is not a certified dietician or nutritionist. Any nutritional information shared on this site is an estimate counted through measurements and package nutritional information used in each recipe. If calorie, macro counting and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through your choice of nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary depending on national brands used per recipe.