These oatmeal carmelita toffee bars are buttery and gooey, with chunks of chocolate and toffee, flavors of oats and caramel all wrapped into one. The touch of salt on top balances the sweetness perfectly.
These oatmeal carmelita toffee bars are my go to whenever I need an easy dessert that I want to make ahead. They're perfect for cutting into large or small squares and serving for a simple friday night treat, or to a crowd at a party. And no matter where they're served, people always go crazy for them!
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Texture & Flavor: There is crispy bits, chewy and gooey caramel and chocolate, with flakes of oats and caramel.
- Easy to Make: These bars can be made in a mixer, or by hand, and are so simple to make.
- Perfect for Parties: I love serving bars and brownies for parties and events because you can prep them ahead and cut into whatever size you need for people to be able to grab.
Ingredient Notes
Full ingredient measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
- Butter: I always like to use salted butter, if using unsalted, just add an extra pinch of salt.
- Brown Sugar: I love the richness that dark brown sugar gives these bars, but light brown sugar works great too.
- Oats: I suggest using old-fashioned oats.
- Flour: I have made these with both all-purpose flour and a 1:1 gluten free flour and they've turned out great with both.
- Caramel: I usually keep a block of Peter's caramel on hand because I love it so much, but kraft caramel bits or caramel sauce work great too.
Step by Step Instructions
- Step 1: In a large mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
- Step 2: Add salt, baking soda, flour and oats, mixing until combined.
- Step 3: Press half the dough onto the bottom of the 8x8 pan. Bake for 8 minutes.
- Step 4: While bars bake, melt caramel and cream together in the microwave. Cook in 30 second increments, stirring in between until mixed and melted.
- Step 5: Top the warm bottom layer of the bars with both chocolate chips and toffee bits, followed by warm caramel sauce.
- Step 6: Place dollops of remaining dough on top, don’t worry about it spreading evenly over the top.
- Step 7: Bake an additional 15-17 minutes, or until the edges are a golden brown and the caramel is bubbling. Remove from oven and sprinkle with flaked salt.
- Step 8: I prefer to make these a few hours in advance so that they can completely set up before cutting.
Expert Baking Tips
- I like to buy Peters Caramel to have on hand for all my caramel needs, but have used Kraft Caramel bits on the occasion that I am out of Peters. And I recently tried it with Trader Joes Sea Salt Caramel sauce because I love it and the bars were great too! Basically you can't go wrong.
- I have doubled this recipe many times and baked it in a 9x13 pan instead. The doing so add 2-3 minutes to each part of the baking.
- I always prefer to bake my bars in a metal pan versus a glass, the metal heats more evenly and therefor you aren't left with an overcooked outside and extra gooey center.
- I have given both cups and grams as measurements. Grams will be more precise, especially when measuring flour. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, no problem! Just lightly spoon flour into your measuring cup to insure its not packed in there. Light and fluffy is the key.
FAQ
No, you only need to mix in the cream if you are melting caramel bits or individual craft caramels. The cream will help the caramel to melt smoother.
You can place the whole pan of bars in a 300 degree oven for 4-6 minutes to rewarm.
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Storing & Freezing
Oatmeal carmelita toffee bars can be stored in an airtight container or ziplock bag at room temperature for 2-3 days while remaining fresh. I generally like to make these bars the night before I am serving them so that they have time to set up before I cut and serve.
These bars freeze great. You can prep the whole pan, cover and freeze if you want to make a full batch ahead of time. You can also place leftover bars in an airtight container or ziplock bag and freeze squares for a quick afternoon treat.
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For more yummy treats follow me on instagram @thesaltedsweets. And be sure to tag me and comment if you make them and love them as much as I do!
Oatmeal Carmelita Toffee Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170.25 g) salted butter
- ¾ cup (165 g) dark brown sugar light is fine too
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) salt
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking soda
- 1 cup (140 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (85 g) old fashioned oats
- ¾ cup (135 g) milk chocolate chips
- ½ cup (90 g) semi sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup (59.15 g) toffee bits heath bar is what I use
- 6 ounces (170.1 g) caramel kraft bits, homemade or from the jar
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- flaked sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 8x8 pan with cooking spray, and line with parchment.
- In a large mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, brown sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
- Add salt, baking soda, flour and oats, mixing until combined.
- Press half the dough onto the bottom of the 8x8 pan. Bake for 8 minutes.
- While bars bake, melt caramel and cream together in the microwave. Cook in 30 second increments, stirring in between until mixed and melted.
- Top the warm bottom layer of the bars with both chocolate chips and toffee bits, followed by warm caramel sauce.
- Place dollops of remaining dough on top, don’t worry about it spreading evenly over the top.
- Bake an additional 15-17 minutes, or until the edges are a golden brown and the caramel is bubbling. Remove from oven and sprinkle with flaked salt.
- I prefer to make these a few hours in advance so that they can completely set up before cutting.
Sarah
I made these yesterday and they are SO GOOD! Thank you for this recipe, I love it! It is very rich, and exactly the flavor combos I was hoping for!
brooke
Thank you so much Sarah! I am so happy you loved them. I agree, the flavor combo is so good!
Melissa
I have made a double batch of these 3 times in about as many weeks. Their our current favorite dessert. I used a caramel topping instead of melting caramels to make the already easy bars even easier.
brooke
I am so glad you loved them!! Thank you for sharing I really appreciate it!
Sophie
Once you have one bite of these…. You can’t stop. So much flavor, perfect crunch but still oozy. Love these.
ashok
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
brooke
Thanks so much for trying them and leaving a comment and review!
Sandy
I made these with Cup4Cup gluten free flour and they turned out amazing! Our guests had no idea they were gluten free! Thanks for another great recipe!
brooke
So glad they turned out just as good with the GF flour!!
Kim
These qre amazing! I was curious about the fact that there are no eggs, but they are perfect. A buttery, salty, sweet, decadent desert.
brooke
Yay!! So glad you loved them too!
Claire
These are so good! And simple to make! My whole family loved them! It’s defiantly a keeper! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
brooke
Thanks so much Claire! I appreciate you not only making them, but coming back for the review!
Amy
Wow! Just made these, absolutely amazing!!!
brooke
Thank you so much Amy!! So glad you loved them.
Gina
These are so delicious - love the flavor combo! They are very rich and perfect to cut in smaller pieces to serve with other cookies and bars. I love to eat them cold too so that makes them easy to make ahead and can be frozen for future use! Thanks for an amazing recipe!
brooke
Thank you so much Gina! I agree that they are so good cold! Thanks for trying them and leaving a review!
Andrea
We’ve been making a different version of these bars for years-but this recipe has quickly replaced our old one. It’s the best we’ve had. We prefer to eat them cold. I had some chilling in our extra fridge that’s in our laundry room. Late one night I went to switch out the laundry and when I turned on the light I found my step dad eating them in the dark. I made another batch to send him home with!
brooke
I love that story so so much!!! Sounds like your step dad has good taste!:)
Bethany
These were an easy treat to whip up for a family event. The flavor combination is delicious and they freeze well too (just rewarm a bit in the microwave before eating)
Michelle
Soooooo good! Perfect salty & sweet. It’s a rich dish but you can’t get enough!
Hope
One of our family FAVS!!!! Most requested sweet treat!!! Love!!!!!!
Hope
One of our family favorites!!!
Shari Mauthner
I’m not sure how I stumbled across your wonderful site, but I bless the Internet Goddess that I did! As I am a fiend for anything with butterscotch/toffee, I immediately knew I HAD to make the Oatmeal Carmelita Toffee Bars. Throw in the 2 types of chocolate, plus the salty kiss, and Wowee!, the deal was sealed.
The bars were phenomenal-a super payoff for how easy they were to make and a bonus for me since I had all the ingredients, including some homemade caramel sauce that’s the bomb!
These will definitely go on the list of Holiday cookies to bake and gift. Thanks and Happy New Year! 🎊
Barbara Christensen
Where have these been all my life?? These bars are a HUGE crowd pleaser as they combine salty & sweet in a perfect love affair. Cutting them in tiny little squares make them the perfect bite size party treat.
Laura
Oh my word I could eat the whole tray by myself! An indulgent but perfectly balanced treat!
Lupe
Able to use GF quick in a minute oats?
brooke
yes, that should work fine!
Allison
Absolutely amazing, and warmed up a bit with some ice cream just puts them completely over the top.
Sydney
Fantastic recipe! Not typically one to review but this is one people need to know about!! Sooo good!!
Kodi Smith
These bars were so easy to make and are delicious!
Kate
SOOO GOOD! Took a batch of these to work and my coworkers LOVED them. Thanks for the delicious recipe:)
brooke
Yay! I'm so glad everyone loved them! Thanks for trying them!
Jill
If I use a jarred caramel sauce, do I need to add the whipping cream??
Brooke Homec
I like adding it bc it makes it smoother and creamier, but isn't necessary.
Katie Gillis
I made these for our dessert while hosting my husband’s co-workers for dinner and they were outstanding. Everyone loved them. Your instructions are so clear and detailed. I also loved how you cut them
at a diagonal - the presentation on my square platter was so pretty with your diagonal cuts. I will be making this one again and again. Thank you!
Megan K.
Made these for a Thanksgiving dessert and everyone loved them! So easy and so delicious!!
Sue
Great recipe…these are so good! Do you use salted or unsalted butter when making them?
Brooke Homec
I use salted for all my baking!
Kristen
Hands down one of the BEST bars I’ve made! I usually always have a batch made up for the family to have! Soooo good and easy to make!
Sidney Messick
These are hands down my fav dessert on the blog (so far considering I haven’t tried everything yet). I have made them over and over - family and friends request these! I have recently started making a batch, cutting into squares, and putting in the freezer to pull out when I need a sweet treat. Only need about 10 minutes until they are perfectly soft. Amazing!!!
Mandy
These are AMAZING!
I didn’t have carmel , so I made a peanut butter and chocolate sauce instead, kind of a Reece twist & these are off the hook good !
Michelle
Have you made these ahead before and frozen them? Is this an ok recipe to do this with?
Brooke Homec
Yes, you can absolutely make ahead and freeze!
Valerie Knurr
I made this recipe and it was a delicious! A huge hit at my work gathering. I wanted leftovers for myself but the whole 9x13 was gone. A lot of ingredients but very easy to throw together.
Jackie G
Happy to have found this recipe. 1-1/2’d the recipe for a 10x10 pan. They were delicious. Definitely a keeper. Thanks!
Jeannie
Hi Brooke, I was wondering if using homemade caramel, do you just use the weight you give for the caramel pieces? Also, any reason I couldn’t sub chopped milk chocolate bar for the chips? Thank you!
Brooke Homec
Yes, just use the same amount of weight for the caramel, and yes, chopped chocolate works great too!