Chocolate & Marshmallow Oat Bars

   My sister makes a mean carmelita....if you've never heard of this dessert with an oat-y base and top, and filled with chocolate and caramel, well, you need to step out of that cave and live my friend! 
   So, I was going to make them the other day and changed my mind....I wasn't in the mood to un-wrap all the caramels for making the carmelitas (basically, I was being super lazy!).
   But I did need to make a dessert for some friends coming over, so I decided to take the carmelita recipe, and lazy it up! Also, marshmallows are super-yum, so I didn't see how this couldn't work!  

Chocolate & Marshmallow Oat Bars


Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Brown sugar
  
• 1 Cup gluten free flour (regular flour works here too)
• 1 cup oats
• 1 Tsp baking soda
• 3/4 Cup butter, melted 
• 10 large mallows cut in half, or about 1 cup minis

• 1 1/4 Cup chocolate chips

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350, and prepare an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang. Set aside
2. In a medium sized bowl mix together the sugar, flour, oats and baking soda.
3. Add the melted butter and combine. Press half of this mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.
4. Once the bottom is done, take it out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes.
5.  Spread the chocolate chips evenly around on the crust, then top with the marshmallows
6. Finally, crumble the remaining oat mixture over the whole mess. Don't try to make it pretty, just take a handful and crumble it on
7. Bake for another 20 minutes, then remove from the oven to cool.

  My sister makes a great point in her recipe for the carmelitas, and it applies to these bars too-they take forever and a day to cool, and if you try to cut them too early you'll just make a jumbo mess. So, the best plan is to make these in the evening, and leave them to cool over night with a clean towel over it. Or make them whenever, but just be ready to let them cool for hours. 

   

   Well people, there you have it! A few simple ingredients and some simple steps gets you some fab-u-lous squares! 
   In the next week or two I'll be sharing an even lazier take on the carmelita, but it's so very, very good! 
   Don't forget (those who live in and around Belleville) to stop into the Mama Market this weekend! If you are a Mom, an aunt, a grand-ma, know anybody with a kid, you'll want to go! It's on Saturday and Sunday from 9:30-3:00 each day, and you can buy some of my baking there as well as many other wonderful things! 
   Have a great weekend! 
   I use exclamation marks too much!!! :)   

xoxo