Gluten Free Oatmeal Carmelitas
Gluten Free Oatmeal Carmelitas also called Oatmeal Caramel Cookie Bars have a buttery crust, crumb topping, and a layer of gooey caramel, chocolate and nuts.
Servings: 36 Bar Cookies
Cost: 6.00
Ingredients
Crust and Crumb Topping
- 2 Cups Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour
- 2 Cups Gluten Free Quick-Cooking Rolled Oats
- 1 ½ Cups Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 ¼ Cups Unsalted Butter, Softened (2 ½ Sticks)
Filling
- 1 11 oz Bag of Caramel Bits or Squares, like Kraft
- 2 Tbs. Milk
- 1 Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
- ½ Cup Chopped Walnuts Or Pecans, Optional
Instructions
- Grease 13x9-inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, combine gluten free flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt and mix well.
- Add butter mix at with a pastry blender or two knives until crumbly. Could also try the paddle attachment of your stand mixer but a hand mixer is not recommended.
- Reserve 3 cups of the crumb mixture for the topping.
- Press remaining crumb mixture in bottom of the greased pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and bake for 10 minutes once the oven is heated.
- In a Microwave safe bowl, combine caramel bits and 2 tablespoons milk.
- Microwave the caramel and milk in 30 second intervals, stirring between each 30 seconds until the caramel is melted and smooth. This will take 1 ½-2 Minutes.
- Remove the crust from the oven and sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips and nuts, if using.
- Drizzle the melted caramel over the chocolate chips and nuts and sprinkle evenly with reserved crumb mixture.
- Bake the bars for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cool 1 hour on the counter until completely cooled.
- Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or until filling is set.
- Cut into bars.
Video
Notes
Gluten Free Flour – I use King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour for this recipe.
Gluten Free Oats – Oats are known to be cross contaminated sometimes with grains containing gluten during processing. Use a certified Gluten Free Oat such as Bob’s Red Mill if oats are a trigger for you.
The Nuts – Use walnuts, pecans, or no nuts for this recipe. While I like the taste and texture of the nuts in the recipe, if you have a nut allergy leave them out.
Mixing the Crust – I find using a pastry blender works well in mixing the crust. A couple other good options would be two knives or possibly a food processor.
All the Crumbs – The oatmeal carmelitas have a crumb topping so some of the crumbs like to fall into the storage container. DON’T THROW THOSE AWAY!!! Put them into a small container. They make a great yogurt topping!