Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Caramelitas
Salted caramel.
Some tastes, from the instant they hit your tongue, become an instant obsession.
My first sip of a salted caramel latte at Symposium was so ridiculously good that I thought, “Dang. I really didn’t need to know about this.”
It’s kind of a “love hurts” experience.
So, with my love for salted caramel overflowing, I knew that I had to feature that buttery goodness in my dessert for the Lit Ladies Book Club.
Luckily, I had already had the perfect recipe to work with. The Oatmeal Caramelitas recipe from Gooseberry Patch is fantastic.
My version has a few minor adjustments to ramp up the decadence. A little dark chocolate and a little sea salt…magic.
My son Joe interrupting the photo shoot and naively thinking the caramelitas are all for him.
Ingredients List
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups quick oats
- 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/8 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups butter, melted (18 Tbsp)
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
- 1 1/4 cups caramel ice cream topping (if you can find butterscotch caramel topping…even better)
- 4 1/2 Tbsp flour
- Sea Salt
Method
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Lightly oil or butter the sides of a 9×13-inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and melted butter.
Press half of the oatmeal crumb mixture (a little over 2 cups) firmly into the bottom of the pan. Just cover the bottom, no need to cover the sides.
Set remaining crumbs aside. Bake for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium-size bowl, whisk together caramel sauce and 4 1/2 Tbsp flour. Set aside.
When 10 minutes are up, remove pan from oven and immediately sprinkle dark chocolate chips evenly over the warm crust.
Now drizzle caramel sauce over the top of the chocolate chips. Move slowly and try to cover as much of the chocolate chips and crust as possible. Grind a light sprinkling of sea salt over the top of the caramel.
Now sprinkle the remaining oatmeal crumbs evenly over the top of the caramel.
Return the pan to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. The crumbs on top should be golden brown.
Allow pan to cool on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes. Then chill the entire pan in the refrigerator (uncovered) for an hour or so (chilling makes them much easier to cut).
Cut into squares and store in an airtight container at room temperature. I don’t store them in the refrigerator because the caramel gets too hard. I like them a bit gooey.
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