Cooking Adventures

I mentioned in a prior post that between Jackie and I, I tend to be more adventuresome in the kitchen.  To qualify that statement, that means I am more likely to try a new recipe or slightly adjust a recipe (as for "whipping" things up from scratch, that's just not going to happen in this household).  Tonight was another night in those adventures, as we are having dinner tomorrow night with friends and needed to bring a dessert.

Thanks to the wonder of Pinterest, and friends that enjoy cooking much more than I do and pin a ton of fun recipes to try, I made Carmelitas tonight, which was originally posted by a good friend.  They are in the process of cooling right now, so I still don't know how they taste (though the smell delicious) (a to be continued update coming tomorrow).  The recipe's below, along with some pics of my faithful little kitchen helper.

32 caramel squares, unwrapped1/2 cup heavy cream3/4 cup butter, melted3/4 cup brown sugar, packed1 cup flour1 cup rolled oats1 teaspoon baking soda6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

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 8x8" 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.

Ellie, helper extraordinaire.