This Carmelitas recipe combines three of my favorite things – Cookies, Chocolate, and Caramel – into one dangerously delicious dessert! A super simple oatmeal cookie dough creates the top and bottom layers of these bars, while melted chocolate chips and a silky, gooey caramel sauce fill in the center. Every bite is the perfect bite when you make these decadent caramel dessert bars! You should also check out my Magic 7 Layer Bars recipe featuring nuts, butterscotch chips, and coconut.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients In Carmelitas
Here’s what you need to make these carmelita bars: Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Caramels: Look for soft, individually wrapped caramels. Kraft is the most common brand you’ll find, but you can also use Werther’s caramels. Take a minute to remove the wrappers before you get started with this recipe. Heavy Cream: to make the caramel soft and gooey, we’ll melt the candy with heavy cream. I like to do this part in the microwave, but you can also heat the caramel sauce on the stove. Flour, Oats, and Baking Soda: To make oatmeal cookie dough for the base of these bars, these are the needed dry ingredients. Use old-fashioned oats rather than instant oats. Melted Butter, Vanilla Extract, and Brown Sugar: These are the wet ingredients. I use salted butter in this caramel dessert recipe because salt goes so well with caramel. Chocolate Chips: Choose dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips for carmelitas. The bars will be a bit too sweet if you try to use milk chocolate chips.
How To Make The Best Gooey Carmelitas
Get ready by preheating the oven to 350°F/180°C, and lining an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Coat the parchment paper with butter, and set aside.
Recipe Tips
Use an 8-inch square pan to make these bars. While you can make them in a 9×9″ pan, they won’t be quite thick enough. Try adding nuts: A half cup of chopped pecans or walnuts can be mixed in with the oatmeal cookie dough if you like. Make salted caramel carmelitas: Sprinkle some flaky sea salt on top of the caramel layer. Carmelitas are rich and sweet, so you can cut them into smaller pieces. I like to make 16 bars that are 2 inches each. Double the recipe: Follow the recipe, but double all of the ingredients and bake the bars in a 9×13″ pan.
Storing Tips
Store leftovers (if you have any!) in an airtight container in the fridge. They’ll stay fresh for 4 days. If you aren’t going to eat them right away, wait to cut them until just before serving. You can also freeze carmelitas for up to 3 months.
More Rich and Delicious Caramel Desserts
If you like caramel, I think you’ll also like these caramel dessert recipes:
Sticky Buns Better Than Sex Cake Butterscotch Cake Pecan Pie Cheesecake Caramel Brownies Oatmeal Pie Christmas Crack Twix Thumbprint Cookies
This truly is the best carmelitas recipe! I’ve tested it over and over again and the bars are amazing every time. Pin the recipe so more people can find it! © Little Sunny Kitchen