All posts tagged caramel

Oatmeal Carmelitas

I was going through my baking cabinet and I found a bag of caramels that I bought last Halloween to make candy apples, but I never got around to it. I was about to toss them, but then I saw the expiration date was March 22nd, so they were still good. So, I wanted to use them right away. I found this recipe for Oatmeal Carmelitas and I decided it would be the perfect way to salvage the caramels. These bars have a butterscotch flavored oatmeal crust, with a chocolate chip and gooey caramel center, topped with oatmeal crumbs. They sound difficult to make because of the three layers. But, really they aren’t because the crumb mixture serves double duty as crust and crumb topping. Actually, the hardest thing about making these bars was unwrapping all the caramels. But, I enlisted the help of my daughter Sammie and together we made a quick job of it. When the bars are hot from the oven, while they don’t slice well, they are delicious with all the melted chocolate and gooey caramel. What a great topping this would be for a big scoop of vanilla ice cream! But, if you can be patient and wait for them to cool, the center will set and they cut into nice bars. I suggest eating these cookies over a plate or napkin because with all that topping, crumbs go everywhere. But, I think that is part of their charm. With two sticks of butter, these may not be the healthiest bar. But, they do have a good deal of oatmeal. Doesn’t that make them at least a tiny bit healthy? I think so.

Oatmeal Carmelitas

Yield : 13 x9 pan ~ 24 one inch bars

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

11/2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 cups quick-cooking oats

1 (14-ounce) bag Kraft soft caramel candies, unwrapped (about 50)

1/2 cup evaporated milk

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips I added about 1/4 cup extra

1 cup chopped pecans (optional) I omitted

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking dish (or use nonstick baking spray). I lined with foil with an overhang and then sprayed it. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until creamy. Slowly add the flour mixture and blend until incorporated. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to fold in the oats. The mixture will be crumbly. Transfer half (about 3 cups) of the mixture to the baking dish. Use your fingers to gently press and spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of the baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes to set.

While the first layer is baking, place the caramels and milk in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramels are melted. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Remove the crust from the oven. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and pecans (if desired) evenly over the top. Carefully pour the caramel mixture on top of the chocolate chips and nuts, and spread evenly. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the bars are set. Cut into 2-inch squares.

Source: Sugar, Sugar: Every Recipe Has a Story

14 Comments

by Just Baked on March 21, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Bars

Tagged Bars, caramel, chocolate chips, dessert, oatmeal

Posted by Just Baked on March 21, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/oatmeal-carmelitas/

Caramel Crumb Bars

If there was a Baker’s Hall of Fame, Nick Malgieri would be one of the first inductees. So, when he says that if given the choice, caramel crumb bars would be the cookies he would chose above all others…well, you take notice, and then make those bars. They did not disappoint! The buttery shortbread crust serves double duty as the crumb topping as well. Then you add a layer of creamy homemade caramel…oh my goodness! My son took a bite, said MmmMmmm and then proceeded to eat three more bars. Mind you he is a little bitty thing, just 45 pounds, so that is a lot of cookie bars! I was going to send them all with my husband to work tomorrow because keeping them in the house would be dangerous for me. But, I think I have enough willpower to save a few to surprise Jack in his school lunch tomorrow before I eat them

Caramel Crumb Bars

For the crust/crumb topping

8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour (spoon flour into a dry-measure cup and level off)- DIVIDED

For the caramel filling

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Position a rack on the lowest level of the oven; preheat to 350°F

Line the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper or foil, then lightly butter the paper/foil. (save your butter wrappers- they work nicely for this purpose)

For the dough: Combine 2 sticks of butter, the sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle. Beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is soft and light. Add the vanilla and mix to incorporate.

Reduce the speed to low, then gradually add 2 1/4 cups of the flour (spooned into the cup and leveled) and beat until well incorporated to form a smooth dough. Use a spatula to scrape down the bowl and paddle.

Remove the bowl from the mixer; transfer 3/4 of the dough into the prepared pan. Use the palm of your hand to press the dough down lightly and evenly. Chill the crust dough while you make the topping: Work the remaining 1/4 cup flour into the remaining dough with your fingertips so that it forms small crumbs. Set aside at room temperature.

For the caramel: Combine the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Allow the mixture to boil gently, stirring often, for about 10 minutes, until the mixture starts to thicken and darken slightly. Pour into a stainless steel bowl to cool for 5 minutes.

To assemble: Pour the cooled filling on top of the chilled dough, then scatter the crumb mixture evenly over the top. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the filling bubbles gently and is a deep caramel color and the dough and crumb topping are baked through.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes, until lukewarm. Use the parchment paper/foil to lift the slab of bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board before it has cooled completely. Cut the slab into roughly 2-inch squares.

Source: The Modern Baker: Time-Saving Techniques for Breads, Tarts, Pies, Cakes and Cookies

Helpful Hints:

Be careful with the caramel so it doesn’t get too thick. I made mine a bit too thick and it was very hard to spread. After using an offset spatula for most of the spreading, I used my hands to press the caramel onto the places I just couldn’t get the caramel to stick (it had cooled enough by then)
It is also helpful to dollop the caramel all over the bars and then spread the large dots of caramel together with an offset spatula. There is less pulling at the crust I found.
Be sure to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off so you get the right amount of flour.
My dough was a bit more crumbly (dry) than it should have been because my Kitchen Aid broke (Gasp!) and I had to use my old-time hand mixer- which apparently is a bit harder to handle than I thought. I had the mishap of some butter jumping out of the bowl. So, the crumb mixture should be in bigger pieces of crumb. It is more of a cosmetic thing…they still tasted wonderful.
I think a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt before the crumb topping would be a wonderful addition.

7 Comments

by Just Baked on January 13, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Bars

Tagged Bars, caramel, crumb, dessert

Posted by Just Baked on January 13, 2012

http://justbakedbyme.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/caramel-crumb-bars-2/