Carmelitas

Ooey gooey goodness. Yum.

Carmelitas have to be one of my favorite desserts! I crave them a lot. I want to make them all the time. I am surprised it has taken me this long to share the recipe. Something about chocolate and carmel together just makes me happy! Try these! I bet you already have all the ingredients in your pantry!

CARMELITAS

• 60 caramel squares, unwrapped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 cup flour
• 2 cup rolled oats
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.

Magic Bars

I had the best time this past weekend. Me and a couple of girlfriends drove up to beautiful Sedona, Arizona and spent the weekend. We had gourmet meals, went shopping, received massages at the hotel Spa, and oh, there was that half marathon we ran. We leisurely made our way back to the real world on Sunday afternoon, but stopped for a quick lunch at Nordstrom’s Cafe on the way home. Coincidentally, we all ordered the Magic Bar for dessert! I feel like this is one of those desserts that is an oldie, but a goodie! My husband loves them, I love them, it is a win win. If you’ve never had one, you have been missing out. They are gooey and sweet and irresistible. In case you don’t have a good tried and true Magic Bar recipe, this is the one!

Magic Bars

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut flakes
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small mixing bowl combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press graham cracker mixture into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Poor the sweetened condensed milk over the graham cracker crust. Then sprinkle walnuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and coconut flakes on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool at least 20 minutes and then cut into squares.

Secret Hot Fudge Sauce

I’m about to let you in on a little secret.  The recipe to my hot fudge sauce.  Around these parts it’s known as Shannon’s Secret Hot Fudge Sauce.  I give jars of this yummy sauce out as Christmas gifts to our friends and neighbors each year.  It’s become known as my “secret hot fudge sauce”, not because the recipe is so earth shattering (although, it really is), but because I don’t give out the recipe on a matter of principle… I want people to look forward to getting this from me each year!

But alas, the blogging world is much bigger than my little world, and I want all of you to have the same opportunity to enjoy this delicious hot fudge sauce.  You’ll have to work a little harder to taste it than my lucky friends who just get a jar delivered to their door, but it is worth the effort my friends!  And who knows?  Maybe you’ll like it so much that you’ll pass jars of it along to your friends and neighbors.  (The recipe is easily doubled, tripled, etc.  Each recipe makes a little over 3 pint jars worth of sauce)  ENJOY!

Secret Hot Fudge Sauce

 

• 12 ounces semi sweet premium chocolate chips (I use Guittard)
• 2 cubes butter, chopped into 1 tablespoon chunks
• 2 2/3 cups heavy cream
• 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla

In a medium sized saucepan, over medium-low heat, melt the butter and chocolate chips together.  When melted, add heavy cream and powdered sugar.  Stir and bring to a slow boil.  Only turn the heat up to medium high, as anything higher will scorch the chocolate.  Stir constantly until mixture comes to a boil.  Allow to boil for 8 minutes.  Remove from heat and add the vanilla.  Stir thoroughly.

Pour into an airtight container.  I use canning jars.

Refrigerate after opening.

Linking up at: Stuff and Nonsense, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Everyday Tastes, I Heart Naptime, Serenity You, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, Six Sister’s Stuff, A Well Seasoned Life