Carmelitas are oatmeal bars stuffed with gooey caramel and rich milk chocolate—every bite is a total treat!
If you love bar dessert recipes, try these 7 Layer Bars, Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars, or Magic Cookie Bars.
The Best Carmelitas Recipe
Carmelitas are my absolute, hands-down favorite dessert. Imagine Oatmeal Jam Bars and Cookie Bars had a baby- delicious, right? It’s no secret I’m obsessed with all kinds of desserts (hi Chocolate Cake), but if you ask me for my favorite, these always win.
These bars aren’t only delicious, but they also hold many good memories for me. These are the bars my mom and I would make every single year for Christmas, for neighbor gifts, while I was growing up.
Since Carmelitas are my favorite dessert bar, I’m pretty picky about how they turn out. I’ve tweaked my mom’s recipe over the years to make them just right! The crust is even throughout, the chocolate layer is thick, and the caramel is soft and gooey. The layers are perfectly balanced, and once these have cooled, you’ll get a bite of the best Carmelitas!
Ingredients
- Caramels and Heavy Cream: Melt these together to make the gooey caramel layer in the middle. Grab high-quality SOFT caramels for the best flavor and texture. Werther’s Original soft caramels are my favorite! While unwrapping individual caramels can be a bit of a chore, it’ll definitely pay off in taste!
- Butter and Brown Sugar: These give the bars a rich flavor and help hold everything together. Use softened butter so it’s easy to mix.
- Flour, Oats, and Baking Soda: These create the thick and chewy crust and crumbly topping. Stick with old-fashioned oats for the best texture.
- Vanilla Extract and Salt: Vanilla adds flavor, while salt brings out the sweetness of the bars. A little salt helps make all the flavors pop.
- Chocolate Chips: These melt into a rich chocolate layer that goes perfectly with the caramel and oats.
Quick Tip
Add the caramels directly into the pot once you unwrap them because they start to soften and will stick to whatever surface they are on.
How To Make Carmelitas:
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Caramels: Unwrap caramels and melt with heavy cream over medium-low heat until smooth; set aside. Stir often to prevent burning.
- Batter: In a bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, baking soda, vanilla, and salt until a thick dough forms.
- Base Bake: Press half of the dough into the prepared pan and bake for 8 minutes.
- Layering: Sprinkle chocolate chips over crust, then pour melted caramel on top.
- Second Bake: Crumble remaining dough over caramel layer and bake for until golden. Watch carefully to avoid over-browning.
- Cooling: Cool for 1 hour before cutting into bars. For clean cuts, chill in the fridge before slicing.
Carmelitas Tips
- Parchment Paper: Line the baking pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking and make cleanup easier. Leave an overhang of parchment paper to easily lift out the entire slab of bars for cutting on a cutting board.
- Chocolate: I love milk chocolate chips, but if you prefer less sweetness or like dark chocolate more, go for semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips instead.
- Measure Flour Carefully: Don’t press down the flour in the measuring cup, and make sure it’s level on top. Too little flour can make the bars greasy, and too much can make them dry.
- Even Crust: Press the oatmeal mixture firmly and evenly into the pan to ensure the bottom of the bars is consistent.
- Caramel Spreading: Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the melted caramel evenly over the chocolate chips so it’s the same thickness all over.
- Oatmeal Crumble: When sprinkling the remaining oatmeal mixture over the caramel layer, try to spread it out evenly for balanced flavor in each bite.
Variations
Ways To Change Up Carmelitas
- Mix Up The Chocolate: Try using different kinds of chocolate like white, dark, or semi-sweet, or even a mix of a couple kinds of chocolates. Butterscotch morsels would also be delicious!
- Make It Nutty: Add chopped pecans or walnuts to the oat mixture for a crunchy texture and nutty flavor.
- Peanut Butter: Drizzle peanut butter or cookie butter over the caramel layer before adding the chocolate chips for a fun flavor (like these Cookie Butter Bars).
- Salted Caramel: Sprinkle a little sea salt over the caramel layer to give you a salted caramel flavor. Make sure you don’t over-do the salt because there is already add some salt in the cookie dough.
Storage
- Cooling: Let Carmelitas cool completely before cutting. They’re tasty chilled too!
- Storage: Keep bars in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 to 5 days.
- Freezer: Stack bars with parchment paper between each layer in an airtight container or ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 2 months.
More Delicious Caramel Desserts:
- Caramel Snickerdoodles stuffed with Rolos
- Caramel Apple Bites only 3-ingredients
- 20-minute Microwave Caramel Corn
- Salted Caramel Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Caramel Cookie Bars sweet and salty
Carmelitas
Carmelitas are oatmeal bars stuffed with gooey caramel and rich milk chocolate—every bite is a total treat!
Equipment
- 9x9-inch baking pan (or use 8x8-inch pan for thicker bars)
Ingredients
- 11 oz. unwrapped Werther's original SOFT caramels, (3 full cups measured before unwrapping) (Note 1)
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup (12 tbsp) unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1-1/4 cups white flour
- 1 cup old fashioned oats, (do not use quick or steel oats)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/4 cups milk chocolate chips (Note 2)
Instructions
- PREP: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and line a 9x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal later.
- CARAMELS: In a pot over medium-low heat, combine the unwrapped caramels and heavy cream. Stir with a wooden spoon until completely smooth, then set aside to slightly cool and thicken.
- BATTER: In a large bowl, mix together the room temp butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt using electric hand mixers until a thick dough forms. Divide the mixture in half and press half of it into the prepared pan.
- BAKE BASE: Bake the base for 8 minutes, then remove from the oven. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the crust. Pour the melted and slightly cooled caramel over the chocolate chips, gently smoothing it into an even layer.
- BAKE BARS AGAIN: Crumble the remaining oatmeal mixture over the caramel layer (don't press it down), then bake for another 13-18 minutes until the edges are lightly browned and the top is set.
- LET STAND: Remove from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature for at least 1 hour before cutting into bars. These bars are best enjoyed within 2-4 days when stored in an airtight container.
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Use soft, individually wrapped, high-quality caramels; Werther's is my top choice. Either weigh unwrapped caramels to get 11 oz or measure to get 3 full cups. Once unwrapped, immediately add the caramels to the pot, as they begin to soften and may stick to any surface they touch.
Note 2: I love milk chocolate chips, but if you prefer less sweetness or like dark chocolate more, go for semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips instead.
Nutrition
Calories: 177kcal
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try them they look amazing. Thank you for the recipe and for the speedy reply!
Yay! Enjoy Patti! 🙂
Question regarding the method to mix: the photos show solid (softened) butter in the bowl and directions state to use an electric mixer. However the video shows melted butter and is mixed by hand. Which is the best way? Would love to try these
Hey Patti, it should be room temperature softened butter added, just like in the photos. I recently updated the recipe, and I’ll upload the new video today. Thanks for catching that! Let me know if you have any other questions.
I did double your recipe, with Werther’s soft caramels, put in parchment paper lined glass 9 x13 pan. So, so good, a definite keeper.
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks Deb! 🙂