A Baked Goodie too Good not to Share!

Worried that my poor hubby has been wasting away while we prepare for Lovebug's arrival? Never fear... There have been home-cooked meals, just not a lot of time to blog about them. And baked goods... how could I survive the last few months without a few (or a lot) of indulgences?

So this little doozy is something that I used to eat everyday after highschool along with a delicious mocha at the local coffee shop in our town. I would grab my journal and have my Bible study there before going to my after school job, and it was the perfect way to spend the afternoon. I'm not sure how I managed to stay so skinny back then... ah youth.

These Carmelitas are buttery, carmelly, chocolatey goodness. You will not be able to stop eating them. Seriously. They're also super easy to make! Here's what you need...

Carmelitas

2 cups flour + 3 tbsp

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 1/2 sticks butter (chopped up)
1 cup caramel syrup
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the caramel sauce & 3 tbsp of flour together in a small bowl and set aside. Try not to lick it all off the spoon in the process.

Grab your mixer and add the butter, flour, brown sugar & oats. Mix on slow until you've got a even crumbly mixture.

Grease a 9x13in pan and press half the crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan (about 3 rounded cups.) Bake for 10 minutes and then let it cool for 10.

Now pour your caramel all over the crust, and sprinkle on the chocolate chips & pecans. Take the rest of the crumb mixture and crumble it evenly over the toppings.

Bake for another 18-20 minutes. Let it cool for an hour and then if you need to you can refridgerate it for another hour to set the filling.

Cut it up into bars and watch how fast they get gobbled up! 

Enjoy ya'll!