Butterscotch Carmelitas

I made these for one of our Friday night martini nights. It is one of the many "non-chocolate" recipes that I'm trying out for Vince, since he gave up chocolate for Lent this year. The original recipe used chocolate chips, which I think would be awesome but I substituted butterscotch chips instead. The result was really good.

What is a Carmelita, you might ask? I really didn't know either but the picture sure did look good. I wasn't able to find any info on where these treat got their name from or where the recipe originated. It is basically a layer bar with caramel. Yum! This particular bar has caramel, pecans, chocolate (or other flavor) chips, and an oat crumble crust/topping. The slightly salty crust along with the creamy butterscotch went really well with the gooey caramel center. Everyone went back for seconds on this one.

They were really easy to make. I was able to whip them up with Max running around the kitchen with me. I would, however, caution that they are in no way, shape, or form WW friendly. These babies pack 9 points per square! These are definitely a once in a while treat that you need to save up some points to have. But they are oh so worth it.

Butterscotch Carmelitas

Adapted from Just Baked

Ingredients
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Margarine, softened
1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar
2 Cups Quick Cooking Oats
1 14 oz Bag Kraft Caramel Candies
1/2 Cup Evaporated Milk
1 Cup Butterscotch Chips
1 Cup Chopped Pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the margarine and brown sugar until creamy.
4. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt.
5. Mix until well incorporated.
6. Fold in the oats. The mixture will be very crumbly.
7. Put half of the mixture (about 3 cups) into the prepared baking dish.
8. Gently press and spread the mixture over the bottom of the dish.
9. Bake for 10 minutes to set.
10. In a small saucepan, heat the caramels and milk.
11. Stirring constantly, heat until the caramels are melted.
12. Remove from heat and let cool slighly.
13. Sprinkle the butterscotch chips over the still warm crust.
14. Use a spatula to spread the chips.
15. Top the butterscotch with the chopped pecans.
16. Carefully pour the caramel mixture over the nuts.
17. Put the rest of the oatmeal topping over the caramel and gently press it down.
18. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned.
19. Let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for 2 hours, until the caramel is set.
20. Once the caramel is set, cut into squares.
    

Yields: 24 squares