Yummy Recipe

The weekend before Lenny started his new job I made a batch of Oatmeal Carmalettes. I went to a jewelry party at a friend's house so I figured I'd bring some over there and then Lenny could take some to work with him on his first day and I'd take some to my jobs too. My friend Lacey gave me the recipe years ago and I hadn't made it in a while, but it's always a big hit and it was again so I thought I'd share the recipe (after I got permission from Lacey).

Ingredients:

50 caramels (a full bag)
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 cups flour
2 cups quick oats
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup melted butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Melt caramels in evaporated milk, cool slightly. While melting, in large bowl combine remaining ingredients except chocolate chips and pecans. Press 1/2 of the crumb mixture into bottom of greased 13x9 pan. Bake at 350 for ten minutes. Next sprinkle with chocolate chips and pecans. Spread caramel mixture on top. Add remaining 1/2 crumb mixture, press lightly. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Cool, then chill 1-2 hours, then cut into small squares.

My commentary: You really can cut them very small because they are quite rich so you get a lot of squares out of one 13x9 pan. They are also very crumbly, so probably not good for a fancy party where you don't want to get crumbs on the floor or on yourself. I also think it's a fun recipe to make with little kids because they can help unwrap all the caramels (just make sure you check for any leftover plastic) and can help with the layering. Plus, it's pretty basic ingredients except for the pecans and no fancy equipment or processing required.

Lenny helped me make my last batch and while he is a fabulous cook, baking is rather foreign to him. I asked him to melt the butter and he somehow managed to set part of it aflame on our stovetop. Slightly scary moment, but all that was scarred was a dish towel (one of my nice Crate & Barrel dish towels from my wedding registry, but we've been married 6 1/2 years; it had a good life).