VEGAN CARMELITAS!

I love finding random recipes that are  easily converted vegan (Basically featuring as little egg as possible. Like this one here that came up I think while I was wasting time on Facebook featured on Classy Cutter. I clicked on the picture (As I do with any beautiful picture) And saw how few the ingredients and decided to veganize it! 

Carmelitas are a delicious oat cookie bar with chocolate chips and salted caramel in the middle, and by no way are these babies healthy- Except for the soul, on a stressful day and all you want to chomp on is some crunchy, oaty, chocolatey, caramely, salty, devilish goodness; And there's nothing wrong with that! I'm always reminded to not take my health too seriously, and indulge in yummy goodness when needed & not let myself feel bad about it! Especially considering my weakness is in them salty treats! ; p 

Note: Let me note ahead of time that I made-shift a quick caramel sauce that didn't turn out so great (I had to use it right away, as it crystalized in the fridge.) Therefore, I would advise you to either make your own awesome caramel sauce (using yours or someone else's recipe like this yummy almond milk caramel sauce from Oh, LadyCakes), or use a store bought/pre-made vegan version like this one. At least until I create a REALLY stable recipe myself. As for the chocolate chips, there are plenty of brands out there such as Enjoy Life, or SunSpire. But I always stick to Trader Joe's, as it is still the most accessible & the most affordable!

VEGAN CARMELITAS

1 1/2 C Melted coconut oil

1 1/2 C Packed brown sugar

2 C Quick-cooking Rolled Oats

2 C Flour

2 tsp Baking soda

1 (12oz) Bag semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips

3/4- 1 C Home Made or store bought caramel sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees and spray or grease a 9X13 Casserole dish. Mix the Coconut oil, brown sugar, oats, flour and baking soda together, until evenly mixed. Use half of the dough and press it down to the bottom to form the crust, and bake in heated oven for 10 minutes. Remove the Pan from the oven and sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips and drizzle the caramel sauce over that. Crumble the rest of the cookie dough over top, then place it in the oven for another 15-20 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let it cool COMPLETELY (I really can't stress this enough) before cutting into it! If you're in a super hurry to eat these babies, pop em in the refrigerator to speed the process along. If you try cutting into it while it's still warm, you'll end up with a gooie mess. Trust! Anywho, have fun baking & living healthy eating kind!