A buttery brown sugary chocolate oatmeal bar layered with salted caramel and milk chocolate chips. You don’t even need a mixer to whip up these milk chocolate oatmeal bars with caramel.
I’m going to get right to the point today friend. These bars have everything I love.
Salted Caramel. Swoon.
Chocolate. Check.
Sugar. Check, Check.
Simple to throw together. Sweet.
Did I mention you don’t even need a mixer for these bars? Right basically, let’s make these now.
How To Make These Caramel Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
The first step is making what will become the bottom and top layer of these bars. You start with melted butter and add brown sugar and vanilla. After they are combined, stir in your flour and oats. Told you these were easy to make friend. Just be sure to measure your flour correctly so these come out soft and chewy in the end.
Then take half of the flour-oat mixture and spread into a prepared 8 x 8 pan. It’s ok, just eyeball what half is. It’s ok if it’s not perfect.
Trust me no one is going to notice or care when they dig into one of these bars.
Bake this layer for 10 minutes. Then it’s time for the ooey-goodness. On top of the oatmeal layer, cover it with chocolate chips. I used milk chocolate chips because that’s what I had on hand. They usually call for semi-sweet chocolate chips. Heck, I’m sure white chocolate would be good too or any combination.
Then pour salted caramel sauce over the chocolate chips.
Now you can go ahead and make your own salted caramel sauce. I made my own. Don’t feel like you need to. But do what is easiest. Sometimes I use a jarred caramel sauce. Sometimes I don’t. For these bars, I took a shortcut though and made a caramel out of caramel candies and heavy cream. Add a pinch of salt and it’s perfect.
Then take the remaining oat-flour mixture and sprinkle on top. Then bake until the edges are golden brown. Mine took about 18 minutes. I started watching at 15 minutes. You can never be too careful. Nobody likes a burnt bar!
The hard part with these bars is waiting for them to cool. If you don’t wait, you will end up with a hot sticky mess and caramel all over your fingers. And the bars might not be as pretty looking.
Tips On How To Make Caramel Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
- Line your pan with tin-foil so the bars aren’t impossible to get out of the pan. Line it the easy way by flipping the pan over and pressing the tinfoil over the bottom to get the shape and it will easily into the pan.
- Make sure to measure your flour correctly so you get the right texture. Here is a post on how to scoop and level properly.
- To cut these bars and make sure they look as pretty as they taste, cut them with a plastic knife. If you want more tips on how to make your desserts look as pretty as they taste.
So these bars are known as “caramelitas”. Or caramel chocolate caramel bars as I’m going calling them. Basically, these bar are simple and hard to resist. As far as their origin. Google stumped me. And that rarely happens. I couldn’t find where these were made first. Rumor on the internet has it that people have been making these since the 1960’s. One bite and you will know why.
Who cares who made them first. Or where they came from. Just be glad they have come into your life.
If you love this recipe, let me know and leave me a comment! I love hearing from you all.
Until next time, happy baking!
Caramel Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter melted (1 1/2 stick), unsalted
- 3/ 4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole-rolled old fashioned oats not instant or quick cook
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt optional and to taste
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet
For the caramel layer
- 1 cup caramel sauce homemade
- OR....
- 35 caramel squares unwrapped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt optional and to taste, if you prefer salted caramel sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×8-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. Mixture will be quite thick.
- Add half of the mixture to the prepared pan (just eyeball it), and smooth it with 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 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 sauce aside.
- 9.After 10 minutes, remove pan from the oven and evenly sprinkle with the chocolate.
- 10.Slowly and evenly pour caramel sauce over the chocolate.
- 11.Evenly crumble reserved oatmeal-brown sugar mixture over the top.
- 12.Return pan to oven and bake for about 15 to 18 minutes (I baked 16 1/2), or until edges are lightly browned and center is bubbling slightly.
- 13.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 (don't burn yourself), but they won't slice neatly with clean cuts. Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Notes
- Line your pan with tin-foil so the bars aren't impossible to get out of the pan. Line it the easy way by flipping the pan over and pressing the tinfoil over the bottom to get the shape and it will easily into the pan.
- Make sure to measure your flour correctly so you get the right texture. Here is a post on how to scoop and level properly.
- To cut these bars and make sure they look as pretty as they taste, cut them with a plastic knife.
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