What better way to mark one of the biggest days of the year for sweets than with this fabulous discovery? This recipe was spawned by Kyle’s recent visit to a Doylestown, PA eatery named Empanada Mama. This deservedly award-winning cafe obviously specializes in the popular Spanish hand pies (which are delicious), but what sent him running home to the “test kitchen” were the Carmelitas he tried for dessert. An obsession was born at first taste, which begged the questions A) Why had we never heard of or tasted these amazing bars before, and B) Exactly how long would it take to develop an acceptable gluten free version? The first question is still a mystery, given the Olympic status of our collective sweet tooth, but the second query was a little easier to answer. Since the base of these bars is essentially a cross between a blondie and an oatmeal cookie, and we already have fantastic gluten free versions of both here on the blog, it didn’t take much time at all. Once that base was sorted, it was topped with layers of caramel, chopped pecans, and enough chocolate chips to balance the flavors, capped off with more of the blondie/cookie dough, then baked into a soft, gooey, chocolate and caramel dream.
A little internet research turned up a recipe from Pillsbury that served as the perfect jumping off point, which was all too appropriate considering that these glorious treats were most likely created during a bake-off competition held by the company back in the late 1960s.
The gluten free adaptation turned out to be fairly straightforward. It was yet another perfect use for the Gluten Free Cookie Flour Blend that has served us so faithfully in the past. The only other adjustments were made for quality and portion control reasons.
The original recipe called for the store-bought caramel sauce typically used as an ice cream topping. That would do in a pinch, but for a dessert bar this spectacular and unforgettable, we felt deserved an equally spectacular homemade caramel.
A favorite caramel sauce in our little world hales from the Baked: New Frontiers in Baking cookbook that also brought us that wonderful Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread last year. The sauce is featured in a Sweet and Salty Brownie recipe—which Kyle swears by, btw—but it would better an entire host of other baked goods, from cheesecakes to blondies to fruit pies (really anything).
The secret to this caramel sauce is the sour cream that gets whisked in at the end. It imparts an extra richness and a slightly sour note to the sauce that acts as a perfect counterpoint to all of the sweet overtones and salty undertones in the bars. There is also a little vanilla extract added to the sauce, and some of the heavy cream was replaced with butter to give the baked caramel a little more body.
While all of these rich ingredients might indicate a want of restraint, trust us when we say that you’re going to need that restraint when it comes to the cooling process. You’ll need at least an hour after baking, then another two hours in the fridge to properly set the caramel. It’s a little torturous, but you will be well rewarded for your patience with a symphony of sweet, salty, nutty, gooey goodness.
As mentioned earlier, the other big adjustment here had to do with portion control. This is a rare instance on the blog where we advise reducing a recipe’s original yield. Where many of the dessert bar recipes that we’ve adapted are scaled for an 8X8 baking dish, which we subsequently recommend doubling and preparing in a 9X13 pan, this recipe was originally scaled for the larger pan, but unless you’re making them for a large crowd, we whole-heartedly recommend that you make our halved version.
Once you taste them, you’ll understand why. They are delectable, but D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S. After two or three pieces, you might slip into a dessert fugue state, emerging into the conscious world several hours later covered in crumbs and caramel, with nothing to show for your efforts but a licked-clean baking dish. It happens. That smaller pan might be the only thing standing between you and a sugar coma. You’ve been warned. That being said, enjoy!
Adapted from Pillsbury.
Caramel Filling adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking.
Find the recipe for Cookie Dough Flour here!
- Caramel Filling:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- ¼ cup water
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sour cream
- Crust:
- 5 ounces (about 1 cup) gluten-free cookie dough flour
- 3 ounces (about 1 cup) quick-cooking rolled oats
- 5 ¼ ounces (¾ cup) firmly packed brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) butter, softened
- Filling:
- ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- To make the caramel filling: In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Bring to a boil and cook over medium-high heat, stirring gently, until an instant-read thermometer reads 350 degrees or until the mixture is dark amber in color, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in butter (mixture will foam up). Slowly pour in heavy cream and salt and whisk. Whisk in vanilla extract and sour cream (it may look lumpy at first) and set aside to cool.
- To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper and grease. In a large bowl, combine all crust ingredients; mix at low speed until crumbly. Reserve half of crumb mixture (about 1 ½ cups) for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture in bottom of greased pan. Bake at 350°F. For 5 to 6 minutes.
- Remove partially baked crust from oven; sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. Drizzle evenly with caramel mixture; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
- Return to oven; bake an additional 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until filling is set. Cut into bars.
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