Make a batch of Carmelitas for a care package for your college student or summer camper and they’ll be singing your praises. Yummy caramel with chocolate chips and some oatmeal to hold it all together, and of course some browned butter.

Christmas break is drawing to a close for us and even though we’ve been eating lots of Christmas goodies over the past weeks, I want to send something yummy back to school with the girls. Carmelitas are an all time favorite, and a little different from traditional Christmas cookies. Unwrapping the caramels is the hardest part. Gooey yumminess is all I can say.
What’s the best way to ship cookies or bars
I ship a lot of cookies and bars to family and I have a method that keeps them fresh and also keeps them from breaking apart as they’re thrown around. I first place the treat in a ziplock freezer bag and freeze them. Then I place the frozen treats in a plastic disposable container. They don’t weigh very much and they’re sturdy enough to keep them from falling apart in transit. Then I put newspaper on both ends and the sides of the disposable container and ship. Most of the time they get there without falling apart.
What do you need for a batch of carmelitas
- chocolate chips- milk and semi-sweet
- 32 caramel squares
- cream
- oatmeal
- butter and vanilla
- brown sugar
- flour and baking soda
How do you make carmelitas
Step 1: Brown or melt butter and pour over flour, oatmeal, baking soda and salt. Divide in half and place half in the bottom of a baking pan and bake for 10 minutes.
Step 2: Unwrap the caramels and melt with heavy cream.
Step 3: Remove baking pan and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top then pour the melted caramels over the chocolate chips and crumble the remaining dough over the top. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Browning the butter isn’t necessary, but I think it enhances the flavor. I would suggest cutting these into small bites as they are very rich and a little goes a long way!
More sweet treat recipes you can ship
More dessert bars you’ll love
- Apple pie bars
- Peanut butter brownies
- Apricot coconut bars
- Pistachio lemon bars
- Peanut butter oatmeal bars
- Raspberry bars
- Sprinkle blondies
Carmelitas
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup milk choc chip
- ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- coarse sea salt
- 32 caramel squares unwrapped (11 ounce bag)
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Place parchment paper in bottom of an 8x8 pan.
- In a microwave bowl, heat butter until melted, or brown the butter by cooking on the stove for 3-5 minutes until it is brown. Cool for a few minutes if you have browned the butter and add vanilla.
- Mix together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt and pour the butter over the dry mixture, stirring with a fork until mixed.
- Divide the cookie mixture in half and place half of the mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
- While baking, combine the caramels and heavy cream and microwave until melted stirring at 30 second intervals for about 2 minutes.
- Remove pan from the oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the crust. Pour caramel mixture over the chocolate chips and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and crumble remaining cookie dough on top.
- Return to oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are lightly brown.
- Once removed from the oven allow them to come to room temperature and then refrigerate for a couple of hours. Cut into small squares.
Leave a Reply