Happy Friday!! Here is a recipe that I’ve been thinking to post for a while… Carmelita Bars. I describe these bars as cookies in the shape of bars. The base and topping are made with oats, pecans, flour, vanilla extract. We add layers of chocolate chunks/chips an has a caramel sauce too. If you are a fan of chocolate and caramel, this recipe is for you!!

The video for this recipe is on my Instagram @Pastry_Tales

Let’s start baking!

Yield one 8×8 square pan

Ingredients

10 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1 teaspoon baking soda

a pinch of salt

1 cup chocolate chunks/chips (I used a mix of both)

28-30 caramels candies

1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions

1.- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line your baking pan with foil paper. This step is very important because it will be easier for you to serve the bars, so the caramel doesn’t stick to your pan.

2.- In a bowl mix flour, oats, baking soda, salt and pecans. This will be our mixture of dry ingredients. Set aside.

3.- In a bowl with an electric mixer mix butter for a couple of minutes. Then, add light brown sugar and mix for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and mix for 30 seconds.

4.- Add in the dry ingredients and mix until everything is well combined.

5.- Spread half of the cookie dough in the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake for 12-13 minutes.

6.- After the baking time is over, take out the pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. While it cools a bit, let’s make the caramel sauce.

7.- In a microwave safe container mix caramels and cream. Place this into the microwave and let it melt for about 4 minutes. I recommend that after each minute you stir it with a spoon so it does not burn.

8.- Add the chocolate chip/chunks on the top of the baked cookie crust. Then, add the caramel sauce. Finally, sprinkle the other half of cookie dough on the top.

9.- Bake for 18 minutes until the edges are golden brown and you can see some caramel bubbling on the sides or center.

10.- Let the pan cool completely. Don’t even think about cutting them right away because they will be a mess because of the hot caramel. Let it cool overnight if you can. Before cutting and if you want clean cuts, I recommend placing the pan in the fridge for 15 minutes and then cut.

Enjoy!