Carmelitas

Ingredients
33 caramel squares or see caramel sauce recipe below
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup unsalted butter melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
1 tbsp vanilla optional since I forgot it entirely
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 tsp sea salt

Homemade Caramel Sauce
1 cup granulated sugar
150 ml heavy whipping cream
4 tbsp unsalted butter

Instructions
Carmelitas
Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×8″ pan with tin foil and grease.
In a bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, flour, oats, and baking soda. Mix well to combine.

Press half of this mixture into the bottom of the 8×8″ pan.
Bake for 10mins until starting to brown.
While the crust is baking, make the caramel sauce.
Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over med-low heat. Stir until smooth and set aside. You can also do this in the microwave in 60sec bursts.
Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top.
Pour caramel over chocolate chips.
Sprinkle caramel with sea salt if desired. Highly recommended!
Crumble remaining oat mixture over caramel and return to oven.
Bake for 15-20mins until the edges are lightly browned.
Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting (min. 4 hours, but better overnight).

Homemade Caramel Sauce:
Place sugar in a pot and add just enough water to make it soupy.
Boil over high heat until desired color is reached. Do not stir, and wash down sides of pot as needed so the sugar doesn’t crystalize.
Slowly add whipping cream while whisking constantly. **Do not add too quickly as mixture may boil over. Add butter and bring back to a boil.
Let cook for a couple minutes.