Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Chocolate Dulce De Leche Bars

Desserts

Every month when the dining hall menu was released during college, my roommates and I circled one day on the calendar. This was a day that was not to be forgotten. This was a day that we quickly scurried to lunch giddy with anticipation. This was a day that was simply all about “the bars” – cookie perfection in the form of layers of a buttery oatmeal crust, chocolate, and caramel.

We loved the bars so much, that no matter the weather, I threw on a huge sweatshirt and stuffed my baggy sleeves with stacks of cookies carefully wrapped up in paper napkins. Yes, I stole as many as of the bars as possible out of the dining hall, and yes, I would definitely do it again given the chance. We hoarded those bars of golden caramel goodness for days and savored each and every bite.

A couple years after I graduated, I stumbled upon the recipe for the bars, which apparently are officially known as Oatmeal Carmelitas. I was beyond incredibly excited that I could have the bars whenever I wanted! For years and years afterwards, I whipped them up anytime I needed to make a dessert to impress. And now, I finally want to honor one of the recipes that inspired my love of baking – this is a decadent chocolate and dulce de leche version of one of my very favorite treats in the whole world. Britt – my favorite partner in crime, this one is for you!

Chocolate Dulce De Leche Bars
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
3/4 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 13.4-ounce can dulce de leche
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Place flour, oats, brown sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Place butter and unsweetened chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute or until butter and chocolate are melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Mix melted butter mixture into dry ingredients until crumb forms. Reserve 1/2 cup of crumb mixture. Place remaining crumb mixture in a greased 8×8-inch pan and press down evenly. Bake crust at 350˚F for 10 minutes.

Place dulce de leche and milk in a small bowl and mix well until smooth. Evenly spread dulce de leche over partially baked crust. Top evenly with chocolate chips and remaining 1/2 cup chocolate crumb mixture. Bake an additional 12 to 15 minutes or until set. Cool 1 hour at room temperature and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until filling is set. Cut into 16 bars and store in the refrigerator.

Nutrition: 309 calories, 13.0g fat, 2.5g fiber, 4.7g protein per bar
Cost: $0.40 per bar

Orange Cardamom Chocolate Bars

I fell in love with cardamom a few years ago when I started drinking chai and have found it’s also lovely in baked goods. While perusing the fridge this weekend for something to satisfy my sweet tooth, I noticed the low-sugar orange marmalade my hubby enjoys and was...

Oreo Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles

I often joke that I’m a walking advertisement for Costco because I’m always gushing about my latest find or fabulous deal. From their cute greeting cards to their juicy sweet fresh strawberries – I love it all! In fact, I’ve talked about Costco in eleven posts...

Sweet Potato Cups

We love sweet potatoes and always have them around, so when I saw the North Carolina Sweet Potato Sweet n’ Healthy Blogger Recipe Contest had a kid friendly category, I immediately knew I wanted to enter. Apolinaras and I may not have children yet, but we’re both big...

Valentine’s Day Heart Cookies

Can you believe Valentine's Day is just around the corner? Apolinaras and I don’t exchange presents or anything, but I do like the excuse to indulge in more chocolate than usual and I also enjoy going all out in the kitchen to make a really decadent meal. This year...

Mocha Donut Pudding

Apolinaras and I just booked a trip to Lithuania! He grew up there and came to the US in 1995 for college, and while I’ve heard a lot about it, I actually haven’t visited yet. So I’m very excited to see where he grew up, meet his extended family, and visit the...

Mini Rosemary Cheesecakes with Caramel Apple Topping

I’ve still got mini cheesecakes on my mind. You can never have too many around, right? Well, I suppose that's not entirely true, but people are usually happy to help out with any surplus goodies! For this version, I mixed some rosemary into the cheesecake batter. Our...

M&M Cashew Pretzel Bars

Our whirlwind NYC tour would not have been complete without visiting a few famous bakeries! The two at the top of my list were Bouchon and Levain, so the first thing we did after checking into our hotel was head up to Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Center right...

Nutella Brownie Cups

So, I had this idea to make some Nutella mousse - slightly sweetened whipped cream mixed with a generous amount of chocolate hazelnut goodness. My original plan was to top some cute little brownie cups with it, but umm, by the time the brownies were cooled, there was...