Name: Caramel Oatmeal Bars
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 bag (11 oz) of caramel squares; 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream; 1 cup all purpose flour; 1 cup old fashioned oats; 1 cup brown sugar; 1 tsp salt; 3/4 cup butter, melted; 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Gooey caramel, a hint of chocolate, and a buttery oatmeal base makes these caramel oatmeal bars a delicious and decadent dessert bar fit for every gathering!

Every year, my family takes a family trip to San Diego for a week long summer vacation. We pack coolers of food, bikes, and delicious sweet treats like these caramel oatmeal bars.

Also known as the Carmelita Bar, these are oatmeal bars with caramel, chocolate chips, and just enough salt to balance out the sweet. Consider yourself warned, these bars can be MESSY.. definitely not a “hand to your child and let them walk around the house” treat. Don’t worry, they are also oh so delicious and you’ll be able to see beyond the mess and enjoy the chocolate caramel flavors we all love.

Why you’ll love this recipe:

If you want a decadent dessert bar, I know you will love these caramel oatmeal bars because they are:

Perfect for every gathering: these treats are not “seasonal” and can be enjoyed at almost every event throughout the year from after soccer game treats to birthday desserts, summer BBQ’s to Christmas parties. Whichever event you bring them to, I recommend keeping them in a cooler and serve them chilled to help the caramel harden up and hold its shape!
Easy to make: There are a few steps here but even a novice baker can pull these bars together pretty easily! Your biggest hurdle will be to not burn the caramel sauce… a hurdle overcome by stirring regularly.
Few ingredients: Compared to other baked bars, these oatmeal bars with caramel are fairly simple on the ingredients front and need just 8 ingredients.
Can be made ahead of time: to lessen the mess, I highly recommend you keep these bars in the refrigerator which means they can actually be made ahead of time without losing taste or quality.

Modification Suggestions:

Make them seasonal: if you want to make these bars as a Christmas dessert bar I recommend you add some red and green M&M’s to the top or even douse with some colorful sprinkles to add a festive flare.
Add additional flavors: shredded coconut, cinnamon, chopped pecans, and other flavors would all be delicious to add to the caramel and chocolate filling!
Up the chocolate: my original recipe called for a full bag of chocolate chips, which I have now reduced to 1 cup to lessen the mess and allow the caramel to be the star of this show. If you prefer a more chocolatey bar, use a full 16 oz bag of chocolate chips.

Ingredients:

·Old fashioned oats: Old fashioned oats add a delicious texture to your oatmeal base
Caramel Squares: the star of our caramel oatmeal bars is this ooey gooey caramel sauce we make! I will apologize in advance for making you unwrap these 1 by 1 but trust me, it's worth it.
Flour: use all-purpose flour as a oatmeal base ingredient.
Brown Sugar: mixed into the oatmeal base
Chocolate chips: I used semi-sweet chocolate chips but you can use your favorite!
Heavy whipping cream: to help melt the caramel squares into a sauce.
Salt: to balance out the sweet in the oatmeal base. Though not called for, you could also sprinkle some flaky sea salt to the top of the bars.
Butter: this is the binder of our oatmeal base.

Recipe FAQ:

How should I store caramel oatmeal bars?
- Store these in the refrigerator for up to one week or freeze for up to 6 months!
Are these caramel oatmeal bars gluten free?
- As listed, this recipe is not gluten free because of the flour. If you want to make this recipe gluten free, I would recommend subbing in almond flour instead of the all purpose flour in a 1:1 ratio!
How should I serve these bars?
- Because these are oatmeal bars with caramel, I highly recommend serving these bars chilled to better help them hold their shape! If they warm too much, the caramel softens and can make them really messy to eat… though they will still be delicious.