We live in a big-but-not-huge town. We have a P.F. Chang’s and a Pottery Barn and two malls and two full-price movie theaters. But we don’t have a Williams-Sonoma. Instead, we have a few delightful, locally-owned kitchen stores. One of them holds a monthly baking contest, and these Carmelitas were supposed to be my ticket to local baking contest greatness.
See, 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 last year while I was visiting my sister. I liked it so much that I helped her eat the whole pan in two days. Just the two of us. A 9×13″ pan. Two days. And we liked it…obviously.
When I got my kitchen store newsletter in January, I started planning out my strategy. Some months I knew I’d be gone, some months I couldn’t think of a good cookie to make, but September–Oatmeal Cookie Month–I knew would be mine because I was going to make Carmelitas, and no one can resist them. They were like my fail-safe. If my coconut macaroons didn’t win in April (they didn’t), and if my bar cookies didn’t win in June (nope), and if my thumbprints didn’t win in August (er, not them either), then I’d knock everyone’s socks off in September with the best oatmeal cookie any of them had ever tasted!
The email naming the winner took a few extra weeks to be sent–no lie–and I was on pins and needles the whole time. When I saw it sitting there in my in-box, I had one of those strange prickling sensation on the back of my neck that you always hear about in stories–not a good feeling. The thought popped into my head that if I had won, they probably would have called or emailed me or something before just sending it out in an email newsletter. But I still didn’t think any cookie could beat my sweet Carmelitas, it just wasn’t possible!
But it was true: a recipe for oatmeal cookies studded with white chocolate and dried cranberries had been crowned the champ. I just could not–and a part of me still doesn’t–imagine any oatmeal cookie tasting better than the best cookie I’d ever had.
Epilogue
If I sound just a wee bit crazy, get a load of this! Last week, I had to go into the kitchen store to buy 20 tiny salt spoons (more on that another time), and I actually brought up the oatmeal cookie contest to the cashier! Even though it had occurred to me to ask about the results, I don’t think I had really planned on doing it, because I sort of ummed and uhhed and stumbled all over my words.
It ended up being, “Umm, well, I sort of was wondering, um, do you guys, you know, like…..keep the results from past contests? ‘Cause I was just, you know, um, maybe if you, you know, remembered the Carmelitas, uh,” **very blank look from the cashier at this point**, “how close it was, uh, you know, like,” and I just sort of trailed off! These baking contests have turned me into a raving lunatic!!
Carmelitas
Ingredients
- 32 caramel squares, unwrapped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup butter, melted
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 8x8" pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel.
- Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.
- Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.
Notes
For more cookie recipes, CLICK HERE and explore my cookie recipe archives.
Can these be made as cookies or do they need to be baked in a pan like brownies?
Hi Dianne. Because of the different layers, these have to be baked in a pan like brownies. You could probably figure out how to make cookies with all the same components (oatmeal cookie, caramel, and chocolate), but you’d have to use a completely different recipe to start with. But they’re so good as is!
Your carmelitas look delicious! I would love to eat one right now! 🙂 Just have to say that your post made me laugh too! I could just see the scenario in my mind – asking about the results…too funny! That must’ve been a painfully awkward moment that you couldn’t really believe you’re were actually going thru 😉 Thanks for the post!
I’ve had these and couldn’t get enough! I went through two people to finally get the recipe and even though I didn’t taste the “winning” cookie, these win over ANY dessert in my book! They are way too delicious. Thank’s amazing baker!
Made these last night and they were fabulous! I used 1/2 and 1/2 in place of the heavy cream. OMG these were so good. My husband crumbled it over ice cream, the kids just ate it as is and today out of the refrigerator is my favorite way to eat them. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
White chocolate chips & cranberries. That’s so run of the mill. I can’t wait to try out this recipe.
This sounds soooooo good!! Can’t wait to try it!! Are the caramels the little candies on clear wrapping or should I buy something else??
Yep, just the kraft caramel cubes wrapped in clear plastic. They take forever to unwrap!
Oatmeal, cranberry, white chocolate cookie? They should be ashamed! Everybody knows coconut trumps all! lol I bet these are fantastic and I may have to find a way to make that 9×13, but better have them to give away ‘cuz I would have it finished with a fork by midnight!
You were robbed! I say demand a vote recount. Thank you for sharing the recipe for this delicious treat.
I must be the only person alive who would undoubtedly vote for the white chocolate/cranberry. I don’t like chocolate and I REALLY don’t like caramel. How many people were on the voting panel, maybe you got one freak who hates chocolate…though, I gotta admit, I’d never volunteer to judge a baking contest with my weird dessert pickiness.
I’ve been making this since I was a tupperware dealer in 1976. They are amazing……I’m not sure why they didn’t take first place. Shame on them!
We don’t get caramels in India where I live. 🙁 Can you suggest a recipe for a substitution please? I’d love to bake these! They look gorgeous! 🙂
Hi Amanda. I haven’t tried it with homemade caramel sauce instead of the caramels and cream, but I really don’t see how it could possibly be bad! Here’s a link to one of my favorite caramel sauces: http://luluthebaker.blogspot.com/2011/10/caramel-apple-cake-for-club-baked.html
Good luck!!
Is this plain or self rising flour?
Regular old all-purpose flour.
I’ve made a version of this with my homemade caramel…we call them 2-pound bars…eat one, gain 2 pounds!!!
Can’t wait to read more of your recipes, this one has received at least 20,000 repins – the most I’ve personally seen. Can’t wait to try these either…so crossing my fingers they’ll fix-up great with gf flour. Thank you for sharing!
Awesome! Have you ever tried using the Kraft Caramel Bits instead of unwrapping the ones you used? They look like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Kraft-Caramel-Bits-11-Ounce-Bags/dp/B00110HEH0/ref=sr_1_20?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1328309831&sr=1-20
I have and they are wonderful! I haven’t noticed any difference in how they perform in a recipe, but not having to unwrap all those sticky, little squares is fantastic!
Thanks! Do you happen to know the equivalents between the two?
I happen to have a bag right here! 1 cup of Kraft caramel bits equals 24 squares, so to equal the 32 squares in this recipe, you need 1 1/3 cups of caramel bits.
Oh awesome, thank you!
Definately going to make these this weekend. They sound blue ribbon quality to me. Look out Publix, here I come! Yummy!
Thank goodness I found it!! I saw the recipe the other night and forgot to repin it :(. I did a search for the recipe and no luck finding this one, until I checked images looking for the picture lol, talk about raving lunatic!! Have a pan cooling right now and dying to dig in!! Thank you for sharing!!
I just made these!! What a fabulous recipe. I was impatient with my caramel and burnt it, it was still salvageable and you couldn’t tell once they were baked. Thanks for sharing : )
HI there Lulu, thanks for sharing this recipe! Since I have pinned it on my board it has been re-pinned so many times! I haven’t made it yet but its on my list of this to do, I might do it for my work colleagues for Valentines.
Hi there these look wonderful but could someone tell me what caramel squares are and where I would get them from? Thank-you.
Hi Lesley-Ann. Caramel squares are little cubed caramel candies, usually wrapped in clear plastic. They have them on the candy aisle of most grocery stores. The brand I always use is Kraft and they come in a yellow bag, although I think there are others brands out there too. You shouldn’t have any problem finding them, but if you do, you can make any recipe for homemade caramels and use that instead of the caramel/cream mixture.
I just found your blog today because of pinterest. This post was hilarious. (and the cookies look good too)
After these came out of the oven, they looked so good my boyfriend didn’t wanna wait for them to cool. I stuck them in the fridge just to keep him from hovering over them! Our waiting finally paid off – these things are out-of-this-world good! I just made a small pan of them, I can already see I will have to make another, lol. Thank you so much for sharing this glorious recipe!
Putting them in the fridge has the dual benefits of keeping them out of the way AND getting them cool faster! Glad you loved them!
These are delish, found them on Pinterest and made them for Christmas this year. They were the first to be finished off. I declair you a winner!
Would this recipe work if I didnt use the store bought carmels. I make my carmel from scratch. Would it work the same? I just live far out in the country so its not easy for me to make the trip to town I like just having everything ready in my own home.
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would definitely work with a homemade caramel instead of the store-bought caramels. I’m thinking a recipe for caramel candies would probably work a little better than a recipe for a caramel sauce (just thickness-wise), but I don’t see how the results could be bad either way! Good luck, and please let us know if you try it!
I liked them but they were way too sweet for me. I’ll be adding salt next time.
Hi Brenna. I always make sure I use salted butter when I make these and that seems to help balance out the sweetness.
I’m not a fan of oatmeal. I wonder if I can use something else. I have a canister of “grape nuts” cereal that I think I could try. And finally, I can use my caramels for something! Bought 4 bags on sale in November (I guess people stop making caramel apples when Christmas season hits). Now I can use them! YAY!
Grape nuts sound like an interesting idea. Let me know if you try it and it’s delicious!
I just made these and let me just say—-they were delish!! My absolute new favorite! The hardest part is keeping my husband from eating it all!
I made these tonight with a bag of soft Werthers caramels (I couldn’t find the Kraft kind) and they are so delicious! I will definitely be making them again. Thanks!
Noelle, it’s good to know they work with other things besides Kraft caramels! I didn’t know Werthers made soft caramels, and now I might have to go buy myself a bag!
Wondering if anyone has tried these with milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet. My family prefers milk chocolate over semi-sweet in most recipes. Based on the comments of one reviewer who found that the middle was not done when she doubled the recipe, would you suggest sticking with the original quantities in an 8X8 pan?
Hi masv. I prefer milk chocolate chips in most recipes, but since this one is so rich and sweet with semi-sweet chips, I’m afraid using milk chocolate would push it right over the edge! However, if you try it and it is awesome, let me know! Also, I’ve always doubled it and never had problems with the middle not being done. I do always have to stick it in the fridge to help it set up, but no problems otherwise!
Going to make these after work! I’m excited, they look amazing!
My Mom made a square like this for us when we were kids and I now make them for my kids. They are still my favorite, the only difference is I put the caramel first and then sprinkle the chocolate chips over that then the top crust. Best treat ever!!!
I cannot imagine anyone would pick the white chocolate/cranberry/oatmeal cookies compared to this! However, where I’m from, these would have been considered “bars” and not “cookies”. If you were specifically told to enter cookie recipes, maybe that hurt you? If so, next time take a biscuit cutter and cut them all round. 😉
Hi RitaB. Yeah, I’m still stumped about the loss!
Lulu – I made these for a work cookie contest yesterday and WON! Whoo hoo – this is a joint victory! We won a unicorn pinata (seriously) and a Target gift card.
Thanks again for the rockin’ carmelitas!
TyAnn
Congratulations TyAnn! I always knew they were winners!
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!….And easy peasy!
Hello, these look amazing and I plan on making them to bring over a friend’s house this weekend. Do you think I can use mini (the really tiny) chocolate chips instead of regular sized chocolate chips? Also, do you recommend using unsalted or salted butter? Does it matter?
Hi Stacey! I think mini chocolate chips will be fine, and I use salted butter for this recipe! There isn’t any extra salt in them, so I think salted butter makes them taste better. Have a fun weekend!
Thanks for your quick reply. Making them later today. That should be fine if I am taking them to a party tomorrow night, right? I will store in an airtight container. Do you have a preference over dark or light brown sugar?
I think the only problem with making them now for a party tomorrow night is trying not to eat them all before-hand! I usually use dark brown sugar because that’s usually what I have on hand. I pretty much disregard that part of a recipe and use what I have.
In the middle of making these and I am not sure if I am going to be able to wait until I am finished to dig in! Just the crust out of the oven looks fantastic! I will post tomorrow after I serve these, can’t wait!
This post made me laugh too! 🙂 Maybe there was a secret criteria for the oatmeal cookies. Like it had to have a certain amount of oatmeal in it and absolutely no caramel! 🙁 They look divine. I can’t wait to try them!
Here’s what happend: the judges all have children that are on a very long waiting list to get into a very prestigious private school. Guess who is the principal of said school? You guessed it: white chocolate cranberry lady.
I think you must be right, Valerie! Definitely something fishy going on…
I’ve made these twice in a little over a month! LOVE them to the moon! 🙂 Do you think they freeze ok?
I’ve never tried, but I really don’t see why it wouldn’t work to freeze them.
I LOVE me some Carmelitas and I am busy making them right now! Don’t hate me for saying this, but have you gotten your hands on the winning recipe? Not that I would have chosen them as the clear winner, but I certainly wouldn’t mind doing a side by side taste test! 🙂
You know, I think they said they would send out the winning recipes in their monthly newsletter, but I don’t know if they ever did. Hmmmm. Off to check my email archives!
OMG Lulu – you’re hysterical. I absolutely loved your story, and I think the whole thing was rigged. Not only did I repin the recipe on my pinterest page, but I also made these this morning. They are absolutely INCREDIBLE!! You should have won – hands down. I honestly didn’t think that I’d like them because they sounded so sweet, but they have just the right amount of sweetness to them. I had to taste them before they cooled off. Big mistake. I polished off almost half of the pan in about an hour. That was so good that I’m heading into your site to find more recipes. Thanks for that one!!
Hi Shelly. They are very dangerous, aren’t they!
Someone may have asked this already, but are “rolled oats” the same as old-fashioned oats? Or would quick oats be better?
Thanks! Excited to make these- they sound & look delicious!
Hi Caroline. Yes, rolled oats and old fashioned oats are the same thing. I think you probably could use quick oats, but I’ve never tried. 🙂
Thank you Lulu for sharing (and Pinterest for the discovery!), so so delicious!! I used Pascal Columbines (Aussie brand) and they have 34 in a packet and the two extras were perfect to get me through until my first batch was ready to eat. The base is similar to ANZAC biscuits (Australian biscuit)but minus a few things…. will try add coconut next time for an experiment
Thanks again! Now off for a run…….. and then some more!
They look wonderful – do you think could I use half and half or milk with the carmel squares in order to make a healthier recipe?
Hi Scott. I would think either of those options would work. I think the cream is just used to turn the caramel squares into a caramel sauce, so the goal is to thin them out. Milk or half and half should work. Let me know if you try it and it doesn’t work!!
The original recipe I have and used for years (from 60s)said to use can milk(5Tbs if making 9×13 pan)with (Kraft my personal fav) caramels in double boiler. I have also used caramel ice cream topping, only if I couldn’t find the caramels. The more you make them you will find which combination of ingredients you truly like, such as butter vs margarine, milk chocolate vs semi, nuts or not nuts, packaged caramels vs homemade caramel. Its fun trying them all out, family & friends will love you for it!
How on earth did these not win?!?!?!!
Lol, Keeley! It’s been a couple of years, and I still have no idea!
This has to be one of the funnies stories I have read! Laughing with YOU. THEY so should have won. This will be the 3rd time I am making these MELT IN YOUR MOUTH BEAUTIES for a dinner party this evening. I will also be making them next weekend for a couples shower. WE ALL LOVE THEM. You are the BIG winner at our house! Thanks for sharing your story.
Just made these tonight. That ‘jury’ of judges had to have been rigged. No way would I eat a dried cranberry over these puppies. Absolutely delicious. Bravo. Those judges are morons. Plain and simple. (Plus, they are so stupid easy to make!!!! Can’t believe I pinned the recipe and waited 3 months to get around to making them.)
That was a really funny story. You sound just like how I would have acted!! They sound delish and I can’t wait to try them! Thanks for the funny story!
Can’t wait to try these….which oatmeal works best? Old fashion or Quick 1 Minute cook kind?
Hi Razahaba. I always use old fashioned oats, but I’m sure either would work.
….already made them today….incredibly delicious! Make sure you have a cold glass of milk on hand, lol. How well do they freeze?
Razahaba–I’ve never tried freezing them. If you give it a go, let us know how they turn out!!