Saturday, February 6, 2010

OATMEAL CARAMELITA'S


Oatmeal Caramelitas...i like to call them "CARAMELITA'S WAY"

WOW! these packed little squares are a party in your mouth. i must admit, once again, i didn't read the recipe all the way through. i chose these on the mere fact that i read the word "OATMEAL". i was silly thinking that this single word alone meant "healthy". the photo looked packed with the heart-healthy oat so i tagged the recipe to make after the holidays. you know, fresh new start for the new year?...well, read on my friend...i must have mentally skipped over the 3, YES three! sticks of butter, 1 whole cup of honey and the 2 cups of chips(recipe calls for 1 1/2, but i had to round up) chopped nuts AND CREAM that were bold as ever. somehow i still think they are healthy...somehow i will convince myself this is true...somehow i will find any excuse to make these again.

i found these treats at DANA TREAT- Treat Yourself. by the way, check out her website. it has some great stuff and killer photos. i think i'll be making this Caramel Cake next...YUM!

Dana's recipe found here and copied below with some notes.

Oatmeal Carmelitas
With Love & Butter
18 big bars

1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

2 cups flour

2 cups oats (quick or old-fashioned)

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1½ cups chocolate chips

½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts (DT: I used pecans)

1 cup honey

½ cup half-and-half (DT: I used cream)

Preheat oven to 375° with the rack in the center position. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan.
Cream the butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt and combine. Reserve 1/3 of the dough. Press the remaining dough evenly into the buttered baking pan. Bake for 5 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer. The crust should be barely brown. Leave the oven on.
Scatter the chocolate chips and walnuts over the hot crust. Now blob the reserved dough as evenly as you can on top of the chocolate and nuts.
Combine the honey and half-and-half. Heat in the microwave or on the stove until hot but not boiling. Pour the honey cream sauce over the dough and bake 15 to 20 minutes. The bars will be done when they turn a uniformly rich golden color. Cool and cut.

my notes....
i used 2 cups of chips-white chocolate, butterscotch and mini semi sweet. i think these would be killer good with peanut butter chips and cranberries?
and i always throw in extra nuts. i used pecans chopped small for the inside and broken larger pieces for the top.

7 comments:

Mags @ the Other Side of 50 said...

I'm not a registered dietician nor health food consultant, but I'm just going to say that butter and otameal cancel eachother out and when combined, they create a delicious health food.

*disclaimer: please re-read the part about me not being a dietician nor a health food consultant....lol*

Patricia @ ButterYum said...

Yummo! I bet these would be good with a little coconut added too!

:)
ButterYum

Anonymous said...

Great recipe, and I have made something very similar recently.....

Take out a cup of your oatmeal, and use a packet of plain crushed biscuits instead - 1 stick melted butter only - mix them together and stick in your slice tin - oven for about 15-20 mins until cooked....

Then the topping is 1 cup of shredded coconut - 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans.....chopped....and a cup of chips.....sprinkle over the top, and drizzle over a can of sweetened condensed milk [ skim ;) ]. Back in oven for another 10-15....just keep an eye on it not to brown too much.

I love your recipe.....but with all the butter etc, I stand to steer clear...this one is not soooo bad. Especially if you use plain biscuits....

Great blog xx

Jennifer said...

now these bars look YUMMY!!!!

Maria said...

I shouldn't of visited...now I am craving these:)

test it comm said...

Those bars look so good!

Unknown said...

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