Carmelitas

A long time ago in a state far far away from here Janssen made these delicious little caramel things. And then I ate the whole pan of them. And then I licked said pan clean. And then I made the caramel things time and time again until I blew up like a balloon. Then I moved to Utah and made them for my family, anxious for them to try such a delicacy. And that is when my mom said, "oh, you made caramelitas!" I was a little dumbfounded, caramelitas were a dessert my sister would always make but I never had because I thought they were just a lesser version of chocolate chip cookies. It turns out that indeed, these "chocolate caramel bars" are the exact same recipe as caramelitas and it's a good thing I didn't think I liked them as a kid or else I would probably be twice the woman I am today, literally.

Anyway, these are easy to make and major crowd pleasers! Because they are so rich they seem to go a lot further than regular cookies, regular people can have a small little cube and feel satisfied (I, however, still have a pan size portion). Enjoy

Caramelitas

By: Janssen and Jennifer

48 caramels
½ cup evaporated milk
2 cups chocolate chips
1 ½ cup flour
1/3 t. salt
1 1/8 cup brown sugar
1 ½ cup quick oats
2/3 t. soda
1 cup butter softened

• Melt caramels and milk in a glass dish in microwave.
• Stir every few minutes until smooth.
• Mix the dry ingredients and butter until crumbly.
• Press 2/3 crumb mixture into a greased 9X13 pan, and set aside the rest of crust.
• Bake crust at 350 for 5 min.
• Take out of oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips while crust is hot. Pour caramel over top. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture on top. Bake again for 15 minutes, top with barely start to brown.
• Bring some to Kristi.