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.
i love oatmeal and caramel and haven’t ever combined the two. (I’m definitely asking myself “why not” right now!) trying these soooon.
Hi Biz. You’ll never go back; it’s a flavor combo that was meant to be!
Just made these and they taste fantastic BUT they stuck to the pan sooo bad. Took about 10 minutes to get them out.
That’s too bad! I’ve never had a problem with them sticking, but I can see that if the caramel made it’s way to the sides and bottom of the pan, they would be stuck like glue! Hopefully they were worth it!
these look seriously incredible. that first pic got my mouth watering. A cookie with fruit could never and would never beat these in my book.
I know, right?! Too bad you weren’t on the judging panel Christina!
Yummy “Caramel Squares”…I have been making these for 20 +years! You’re right,everyone loves them!
Hi Cathy. Caramel Squares is such a normal name; I wonder who decided to call them Carmelitas, lol!
Thank you SO much for this recipe. I found it on Pinterest and made it last week. I’ve made a lot of recipes from Pinterest and so many don’t turn out š But this was fantastic! Super easy to make and amazingly delicious. Seriously the best dessert I’ve ever had.
You are welcome, Anne! All I did was pass on a delicious recipe that was passed on to me. Now everyone can see how delicious they are!
I made these tonight and I have also made a cheese cake type bar with the same type of receipe. I have the hardest time with the bottom part of the bar (it seems as if I didnt put enough down) I felt as if I used more than half but it was very hard to get to stay on the bottom of the pan becuase it was so sticky. So now, hours later, I cut them becuase my boyfriend could not wait to eat them and it seems as if there is no bottom part of the bar, it is just the top part and tons of caramel and chocolate! What am I doing wrong? I didnt actually make the caramel I used caramel sauce (for ice cream) Is that my problem or are there any other tips you could give me?? I have to get these correct and taste them!!
Hi there! I’ve had a few readers comment that they made the carmelitas and something went wrong. I wish I could tell you how to get them perfect! All I can tell you is that I follow the recipe to a T when I make them and they have always turned out. I do usually get impatient and stick them in the fridge to help them solidify, but I’ve never had them turn out really weird. Maybe take a week off and try them again with fresh eyes!
These are delicious, i just whipped up a batch. How on earth can anything beat them. These are a-ma-zing. Now…to just hide them from the family….;)
Hi Mandy! My strategy is to eat them after everyone else has gone to bed!
Oh my word, these are the best ever! My hubby and I tried them and they were perfect! Making them again tomorrow night for some friends who are coming over!
Nothing lets people know you care quite like a pan of carmelitas!!
OK, so I made these and sent them to a house of ” 4 boys” at college. Packed em up and sent them from NY to California. Double batch. My son said they were gone in two days.UNREAL! (THE BATTER FROM THE OATMEAL IS GOOD ENOUGH JUST LIKE THAT!)
Haha, I’m glad they were popular with the college boys!
Absolutely delicious!
You need to find the closest county/regional fair, and enter them there!! I competed for a few years in baking and photography fields at the Ozark Empire Fair – and loved it!! When I moved out of state, well, that’s another story – but I’ll be looking in to the closest fairs soon!! (and I’ll let you know if your Carmelitas win there).
Hi Marina! I’ve entered them a couple of times in little baking contests and they’ve never won, which completely blows my mind! Please do let me know if you win anything with them; I know a couple of other people have had baking contest success with these babies!
I made a double batch of these using Dulce de leche for some friends and family I was visiting and they LOVED them!! One friend said he’d be happy to eat a whole pan till he got sick š Can’t wait to make them again!
Hi Jackie! I think I could eat the whole pan too!
This must be heaven! Thanks for sharing!
You are welcome Tanja! Can’t keep heaven to myself!
These look so yummy that I made a pan for my husband… flop. The oatmeal doesn’t look cooked (had it in the oven for 25 minutes!) and the carmel bubbled up over the top. I used Mrs Richardson’s carmel topping and wonder if that was too runny. I googled other recipes and sure enough… if you use topping you need to add about 1/4 cup extra flour to it to thicken it up. You may want to add that to the end of your recipe.
Sorry they didn’t set up for you. I hope you still ate them with a spoon though!
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What a perfect fall treat! Made them for a friend’s movie night and they were good then but then took some to work to share with co-workers and they tasted better a couple of days after they have been cooked! š So yummy. Thanks for sharing! -Melissa
Hi Melissa. They do get better and better, but they never last very long!!
Oh yeah…these are the ticket!
Thanks for sharing! I made these for some girls at church. I love this recipe!
Glad you love them!
These sound spectacular and, as a caramel fiend, I long to taste the sheer deliciousness you describe.
A note on the baking contest: Many times these contests are judged on presentation and not taste alone which, I think, is total crap because how many times has something not looked like a magazine print but tasted like Palatable Paradise? What I’m saying is that, because it was oatmeal cookie month, and they also hosted a bar month, perhaps the judges disqualified your entry based on shape. Yeah, they’re that shallow sometimes. Perhaps they were looking for a round, somewhat flatted traditional cookie versus a square bar?
Hi Amie. I wondered kind of the same thing. But they should still have won a special prize for awesomeness, right?!
Ohhhh, I hope these are like the Sheila’s Dream Bar (from a regional sandwich shop). I’m going to shop for supplies and make these this weekend. Maybe even taken them on a camping trip.
So sorry that you didn’t win your contest. There’s always next month.
Hi Fame. Sadly, the little kitchen store stopped having contests after that! I asked a couple of times and they said they planned on starting back up, but they haven’t so far. š
I have to thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I found it last night on Pinterest as I was searching like a fiend to find the yummiest scrummiest recipe I could find so I could make something for my Company’s Carnival today. I doubled your recipe and made this (thank goodness my 2 kids like unwrapping caramels) and guess what??? It won First Place!!!! I hope that helps to prove that whatever judging was done on your oatmeal cookie competition that it was TOTALLY RIGGED! You absolutely deserved to win with this recipe. By the way, we have a new nickname for these we are calling them “Crack Bars” because one taste and you are HOOKED!
Crack Bars is a perfect name for them Stephanie! And I’m so glad they won first place for you. I just know someday I’ll be vindicated!
I used milk chocolate chips and they were amazing!
hagerty6–I’m actually a milk chocolate fan and will have to make a mental note to try it in these sometime!
These are AMAZING! Seriously. They’re on my Top 10 Pinterest Recipes blog post š
http://coconutxoxo.blogspot.com/2012/10/top-10-pinterest-recipes-tested-and.html
Thanks Maureen!
Oh my gosh! It’s incredible!
They ARE incredible Kim!
Someone has posted how they made them gluten-free: http://gfreegirlpastaworld.blogspot.com/2012/08/best-dessert-ever.html
And I think these have now been added to my list of stuff I’m making for the holidays!
Yay! I’m glad to know that now everyone the world over can enjoy carmelitas!
I usually don’t keep caramels in the house but I had a bag leftover from another dessert. I was meant to make them today. I just added the second layer and they are in the over. Can’t wait to try them YUM
Oooh, I hope you loved them! They have to cool for so long; it’s torture!!
First, I WILL be making these today. Second, you’re hilarious! That’s something I’d totally do, glad there are goofballs (albeit talented) like us in this world to keep it interesting….and delicious! š
Haha, thanks. I don’t think I’ll ever stop wondering about that dang contest!
The carmelitas look amazing! — My only question is…. Do you use Quick- cooking oats or Old Fashioned oats? No one has asked this and I want mine to turn out right so can anyone help me with this?
Hi Diana. The recipe calls for and I always use old fashioned oats. I’m sure you could use quick-cooking oats without messing things up too much.
I don’t know if this helps or hurts but I just won our work bake sale (benefiting United Way) with these! They are delicious and my office thanks you!
Congrats Heidi! I love hearing that these win baking contests for everyone else. It just proves that my contest was a sham, as I suspected!
These turned out so good! I made them even easier with the Kraft caramel bits. They are made to be added to a recipe without premelting. I used a little less than a cup to just cover the first layer.
Huh! I’ve used the Kraft caramel bits, but it never occurred to me to just sprinkle them on!
I thought you might like to know that I made these for a cook-off at my church a few weeks ago and THEY WON in the dessert section! I knew you would be happy to know that this recipe is a winner :}
I’m glad they won! They will always be winners in my book!