On the Tailgate Menu: Carmelitas
Ok, this recipe had me at the caramel. The pictures that go with this pin are mouth-watering. My daughter declared this recipe "the bomb." Until she realized that she had to unwrap all of the caramels. And apparently I didn't buy the easiest caramels to unwrap. So I paid my son $1 to help her. Well worth my time to do that. My daughter is the baker in the family, so she got to do this recipe and it turned out perfect. Caramel, chocolate, what's not to love?
And what's a tailgate without dessert?
Carmelitas, courtesy of Averie Cooks on Pinterest
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, melted (1 1/2 sticks)
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flower
1 cup whole-rolled old fashioned oats (not instant or quick cook)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt, optional and to taste
35 caramel squared unwrapped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste, if you prefer salted caramel sauce
1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8 inch pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Lining your pan is highly recommended for ease of cleanup due to the stickiness of the caramel; set pan aside.
In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, add the butter and heat on high power to melt, about 90 seconds.
Add the brown sugar, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
Add the flour, oats, baking soda, optional pinch salt and stir until combined.
Add half of the mixture to the prepared pan (just eyeball it) and smooth it with a spatula or the back of a spoon to create an even, smooth, flat layer; set remainder aside.
Bake for 10 minutes. While it bakes, make the caramel sauce.
In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, combine the caramels, cream and heat on high power in 60-second bursts to melt the caramels, stirring after each burst. It will likely take about 4 to 5 minutes total to melt; heat until mixture can be stirred smooth. Alternatively, combine caramels and cream in a medium saucepan, and heat over medium-low heat to melt stirring nearly continuously, until mixture can be stirred smooth.
Optionally stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste for salted caramel sauce, set aside.
After 10 minutes, remove pan from the oven and evenly sprinkle with the chocolate.
Slowly and evenly pour the caramel sauce over the chocolate.
Evenly crumble reserved oatmeal-brown sugar mixture over the top.
Return the pan to oven and bake for about 15 to 18 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and center is bubbling slightly.
Allow bars to cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving, giving the molten caramel time to firm up. This can take up to 4 hours or overnight, at room temperature. You can speed it up by placing pan in fridge with a sheet of foil over the top to prevent fridge smells. If you don't wait for bars to cool completely, they'll be a literal hot mess. They'll taste fine, but they won't slice neatly with clean cuts. Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the the freezer for u to 4 months.
Notes:
My daughter recommends unwrapping the caramels first so that they're done, or pay a younger sibling more money to do all of them. She used the microwave method to melt the caramels and that worked fine. Her biggest piece of advice is to be patient and let them cool. We really wanted to eat them right away, but they were so gooey that we couldn't. Very hard to let them sit and cool, we threw them in the freezer to speed up the process. Also, cut them into bite-sizes pieces, a little really goes a long way!
