Oatmeal Carmelitas

That is not my photograph (no surprise there). I forgot to take any photos of my cookie bars, so I borrowed this photo from www.solomonscookies.com, where you can buy Oatmeal Carmelitas at $19.95 for a box of 12. Holy mackeral. They do look spectacular. Mine were not that pretty, but they were really tasty!

I made these cookie bars to take to work on Wednesday, because we were having a dessert potluck in honor of Vicky's last day. You might remember that I made the pralines a few weeks ago in honor of Vicky returning to work from maternity leave... I knew at that time that we would not have her with us much longer. Someday within a few years I hope to follow in her footsteps.

This was a recipe I had clipped from a Smuckers coupon awhile ago. I would highly recommend it! The bars were easy, different, and delicious. Here's a tip: when I was adding the filling, I spread out the caramel topping evenly to all the edges of the pan. The next time I make this recipe, I won't do that and instead will just drizzle the caramel over the base without spreading it. The reason is that as the bars cooked, the caramel spread out and started to climb up the edges of the pan. Then when they cooled, the caramel got really hard at those edges and made it difficult to cut. I figure that if I don't spread the caramel it will still spread out on its own but without making a mess.

Ingredients:
CRUST
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2 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
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2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
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1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
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1 teaspoon baking soda
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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1 1/4 cups butter or margarine, softened
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FILLING
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1 jar Smucker's® Caramel Spoonable Ice Cream Topping
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3 tablespoons Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
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1 package (6-oz.) (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
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1/2 cup chopped nuts
Directions:
1.
Heat oven to 350° F. Grease 13x9-inch pan. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix at low speed until crumbly. Reserve half of crumb mixture (about 3 cups) for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture in bottom of greased pan. Bake at 350° F. for 10 minutes.
2.
Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine caramel topping and 3 tablespoons flour; blend well.
3.
Remove partially baked crust from oven. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. Drizzle evenly with caramel mixture. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
4.
Return to oven; bake an additional 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until filling is set. Cut into bars.