Oatmeal Carmelitas

These bars are bottom-and-top oat crust with a sandwich of caramel and chocolate in between. The crust serves double duty, half goes underneath, half crumbles on top, and they bake together into one cohesive bar.

The pre-bake of the bottom crust is the move that keeps the base from going soggy under the caramel. Skip it and you’ll end up with a wet, mushy foundation.

Mixing flour into the caramel sauce thickens it just enough to stop it sliding around mid-bake. Without it, you get caramel weeping out the sides instead of staying put between the layers.

Quick oats are specified here for a reason. Old-fashioned oats give a chewier, coarser texture and the crust won’t pack down as cleanly. If quick oats are all you have on hand, you can pulse old-fashioned in a food processor a few times to break them down.

Pro Tips

• Let the bars cool completely before cutting. Warm caramel oozes everywhere and the squares fall apart.
• Line the pan with parchment leaving an overhang. Lift the whole slab out for clean cuts.
• Use a hot knife wiped between cuts for the cleanest edges.
• Pecans or walnuts both work, toast them first to amplify the flavor.

Variations

• Drizzle melted dark chocolate on top after cooling for a bakery-style finish.
• Swap the caramel topping for dulce de leche for a deeper, more burnt-sugar flavor.
• Add a pinch of flaky sea salt over the caramel before the top crust goes on.