Quick & Easy Oatmeal Carmelitas
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5 ingredients + 35 minutes = a delicious batch of soft and decadent oatmeal carmelitas, a bar cookie that’s a caramel lover’s dream!
I’m a caramel gal. I cast caramel the same longing looks that most folks reserve for chocolate. Creamy, gooey caramel has always called my name louder than any other form of candy. So as a caramel lover, when I tell you that today’s recipe is something special, you need to know that I am sharing one of my treasures with you.
I’m pretty sure every time someone eats an oatmeal carmelita, an angel earns its wings or God smiles, or maybe a baby is born, or something like that. Either way, I’m pretty sure it’s a big deal in Heaven ;). Oatmeal carmelita bars were first published in a Pilsbury cookbook in 1979 and are still beloved today. One bite and you’ll see why.
Fortunately, when I say this is a quick and easy oatmeal carmelitas recipe, I mean it. All you need is 5 ingredients (flour, oats, butter, brown sugar, and caramel) and 35 minutes and you’ll have a big batch of these beautiful bars. They’re soft and filled with the most irresistible ooey-gooey caramel center. Plus, the oatmeal and brown sugar crumbly topping adds to the caramelized flavor. I tell ya, a caramel lover’s dream! Let’s get started!
Recipe Ingredients
- Brown sugar (I prefer dark)
- Old-fashioned oats (quick oats will also work)
- Self-rising flour
- Melted butter
- Caramel
Place everything but the caramel in a large bowl.
Stir that together real good until it’s well blended.
Now get a pinch of it to taste because it is WONDERFUL!
Pat half of this oat mixture into the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan.
Take your caramel sauce and BLOP caramel all over the top.
Then spread it out to cover.
Sprinkle the rest of your crumb mixture over the top.
Bake this at 350 for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow them to cool pretty good before cutting so the caramel has time to set up again.
I know, this just sounds so wrong and normally I would quietly encourage you to eat one warm but trust me, that caramel is hot as tar straight out of the oven. Although it is worth a tongue burn, that would inhibit your ability to enjoy then later so I’m thinking of your safety here.
Did you see how easy that was? Seriously! It is amazing that a bar with this much deliciousness can be done with so little effort.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. You can wait for them to thaw in the fridge or enjoy them from frozen.
Recipe Notes
- Traditionally, I could only find the caramel in the Mexican aisle, but these days you can usually locate it in the bakery section at your local grocery store. But if you want to make your own caramel check out our recipe for homemade dulce de leche here.
- If you want to step up the indulgence, you can spread 1 cup of semi-sweet milk chocolate chips and 3/4 cup of chopped pecans over the caramel layer. You can use any kind of chocolate (milk, white, or dark chocolate) and your favorite nuts, like walnuts.
- For a salted caramel touch, add a pinch to the oatmeal mixture.
Check out these other delicious cookie bar recipes:
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cookie Bars
Recipe for Chocolate Chip Bars
Butter Bars From Scratch: Gooey Goodness Awaits!
Recipe for Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup butter melted
- 2 cans dulce de leche or caramel 14-ounce each
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together the first four ingredients until well blended.2 cups self-rising flour, 2 cups old-fashioned oats, 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar, 1 cup butter
- Pat half of the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.
- Spread all of the caramel sauce over the top of the oat mixture until evenly covered. Sprinkle this with the remaining crumb mixture.2 cans dulce de leche or caramel
- Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool at least slightly before serving so caramel will be set again.
Notes
Nutrition
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. ~John 14:27
I made these for my step-son’s rehearsal dinner last October…they were fantastic!! I made 8 different kinds of cookies (all new, untried recipes) and these were my favorites! I popped the extras in the freezer and shared them again at Christmas, all except the Carmelitas…I hid those to hoard for myself!!!
LOL, I have been known to hide and hoard them myself!!
I follow you everywhere I can, I love your easy recipes!
U
Thank you so much Kathy!!!!!
I just made your Oatmeal Caramelitas recipe and it’s gonna be great but my caramel, the kind you said to buy, isn’t as thick as in your picture. Should I refrigerate it before use to make it thick?Thanks…
I most certainly WILL NOT share this recipe with anyone…as far as anyone else is concerned, I’m going to keep this precious little ditty as my ace-in-the-hole for the answer to everyone else’s brownies and cakes and pies and same old same old (though I adore those, as well). HA!
🙂
$3.38 per can for the caramel was a bit pricey for me. The recipe looks good, though. Maybe for the holidays!
You can always make your own caramel as well Renae, it just takes a lot longer.
Our local Walmart has Eagle Brand caramel for $1.98. I bought it today and can’t wait to make these for our church supper tomorrow night. Thanks for all the great recipes Christy!!!
I hope you enjoy Teresa!!!
I double checked the price yesterday and I pay less than $2.00 a can as well. It never hurts to price check, you may be paying double for more things than you realize @,@
Made these yesterday to take to work today! Had to hide them so my husband wouldn’t eat the whole pan! Made the house smell FANTASTIC!!!! They lasted MAYBE 10 minutes at the office!!! Everyone wanted the recipe!!!! SO GOOD ! Definitely the first treat on my Christmas sweets list…would also be PERFECT for a bakesale, I think would be a unique item! Thank you Christy, pinned it, printed it, hand wrote it….LOVED LOVED LOVED these!
I am so glad to hear they were a hit Laura!!!
Do you suppose you could use the basic recipe and put other kinds of filling? If one wanted chocolate (sorry to be disloyal!!), would you have a suggested recipe for the filling? Or what do you think about raspberry jam, with or without chocolate chips? or maybe thick rhubarb/strawberry filling? cherry pie filling? Is the crust/topping mixture flexible when it comes to moisture content for various fillings, do you think? Thanks in advance for advice.
BTW, we just love love love your sweet down-home style. If we ever get down your way, we’d love to meet you! I bet you’re a sweet friend! God bless you!
Absolutely, go for it! The options are endless and the crust part will really hold up to a lot. Now you’ve got me wanting to play with it more!
Thank you for your kindness and grace when thinking of me!
Gratefully,
C J