Carmelitas are dessert bars that have a buttery brown sugar oat crust, a melty chocolate and rich caramel center, and a crumbly oat topping. Dessert perfection!

I love switching up desserts — don’t get me wrong, chocolate chip cookies and brownies are amazing, but sometimes your sweet tooth needs something new. These carmelita bars are everything you love about cookies and candy rolled into one irresistible bite.

The top and bottom layers are soft, golden oatmeal cookie goodness, sandwiching a gooey caramel-chocolate center that melts together beautifully. One bite, and you’ll understand why these bars never last long at our house!

Why You’ll Love These Carmelita Bars

Gooey, melty, and a little bit of crispy in each bite. The combination of textures is totally divine!

Super easy to make. Even taking into account the different layers it’s pretty much just as easy as could be which is perfect for when you want a little something sweet but you aren’t up for a huge kitchen project.

No mixer needed. All you need is a large mixing bowl and a wooden spoon.

These are always a huge crowd pleasers. I’ve never taken home leftovers when I’ve taken them to any kind of event.

Now this is dangerous, but you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry right now, so get baking!

Ingredients Needed for Carmelitas

The good news just keeps on comin’! Most of the ingredients for carmelita bars are pantry-friendly ingredients that you’ll already have at home. Here is what you will need:

• Flour: Gives structure to the oat layers so they hold the gooey filling together.
• Old-Fashioned Oats: Add chewy texture and that classic oatmeal cookie flavor we love in carmelitas.
• Cinnamon: Adds warmth and depth, enhancing the caramel and chocolate flavors.
• Salt: Balances the sweetness and makes the caramel and chocolate flavors pop.
• Baking Soda: Helps the oat mixture bake up light and slightly crisp instead of dense.
• Brown Sugar: Adds rich caramel flavor and moisture, giving the crust that buttery chew.
• Butter: Binds the oat mixture together and creates that golden, crisp, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
• Caramel Squares: Melt into that gooey, rich caramel center that defines carmelitas. You’ll want 37 pieces of the individually wrapped caramels, no more, no less.
• Evaporated Milk: Thins the caramel just enough so it’s pourable and soft when baked.
• Heavy Cream: Adds extra richness and keeps the caramel ultra-smooth and creamy.
• Chocolate Chips: We prefer a combination of milk chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Milk chocolate brings creamy, sweet chocolate flavor that pairs perfectly with caramel. The semi-sweet chocolate adds balance and depth — just enough b

Save this Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Muddy Buddy Recipe (also called Puppy Chow) for a quick and easy snack that no one can stop eating! No baking needed, and just a few ingredients from your pantry!!

I can’t think of a more popular holiday party snack than Muddy Buddies, made with Chex cereal coated in a chocolate, peanut butter and powdered sugar. But have you had our dark chocolate muddy buddies? The secret isn’t in chocolate chips, it’s actually in the peanut butter!

Ok, the 2 questions I always have to ask:
Did you grow up calling this addicting snack “muddy buddies”, or “puppy chow?” 

And 

Did you mix in a bowl or a large ziploc bag?

My siblings and I grew up saying puppy chow, but I mostly call it muddy buddies now. My mom would make a big batch, throw powdered sugar in a ziploc, add the chocolatey cereal and we would take turns shaking the snack to coat it in the powdery deliciousness. We couldn’t wait to dig in!

Ingredients for Dark Chocolate Muddy Buddy Recipe

• Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter & Co Spread: This is your main flavor powerhouse, combining intense dark chocolate with creamy peanut butter. It coats the cereal, binding the mix together and delivering a rich, slightly bitter-sweet taste that balances the sugar. 
• Butter: Adds richness and helps thin the chocolate mixture so it flows smoothly over the cereal. It also gives a softer bite and helps the coating stick. 
• Semisweet Chocolate Chips (or Peanut Butter Chips): Boosts the chocolate (or peanut butter) flavor and helps create a firmer coating once cooled. Semisweet chocolate adds sweetness without being too sugary, while peanut butter chips give a more nutty, creamy twist.
• Rice Chex Cereal: The crunchy, airy base. Its hollow squares trap the coating, creating little pockets of chocolate-peanut-butter goodness while staying crisp under the sugar. Corn Chex can also be used.
• Powdered Sugar: Creates that signature powdery, sweet coating. It also keeps the pieces from sticking together and adds a pleasant sweetness to contrast the darker chocolate. 
• Cinnamon Sugar: Adds warmth and a subtle spiced aroma that deepens the chocolate flavor.

How to Make Dark Chocolate Muddy Buddies

1. Melt: Add the dark chocolate spread, butter and chocolate chips to a microwave-safe medium mixing bowl and melt in 30 second intervals stirring frequently until creamy. You can also melt it over medium heat in a saucepan on the stove.
2. Coat: Add the cereal to a large bowl&nb

Creamy homemade chocolate ice cream is loaded to the absolute limit with bite-sized chunks of Oreo cookies to create this chocolate lover’s cookies and cream ice cream.

Chocolate Oreo Ice Cream

With a rich chocolate ice cream base, this chocoholic’s cookies and cream ice cream has been a hit from the very first taste. One of my boys may have even attempted to hide the last of it away from his brothers.

The chocolate ice cream base plays up the cookie flavors, making every bite chocolate heaven. Traditional Oreos or dark chocolate Oreos are an excellent choice for this ice cream. However, any flavor of sandwich cookie you enjoy will work beautifully in this recipe.

Want to take this ice cream to the max with Oreo awesomeness? Serve it scooped over warm Oreo brownies for a dessert that no one will forget. It’s an Oreo lover’s dessert fantasy come to life.

Chocolate Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Classic cookies and cream ice cream will forever have a place in my heart, as will this chocolate Oreo ice cream, but sometimes I like to mix up those flavors. Creamy oatmeal cream pie ice cream with hints of brown sugar and cinnamon is generously filled with pieces of oatmeal cream pie cookies.

The satisfying crunch of Nutter Butter cookies in creamy homemade ice cream makes this Nutter Butter ice cream positively irresistible. Sweet strawberries mingle with crunchy golden Oreos whispering of summer in this luscio

If a thick, chocolate malt milkshake is your kind of treat, just wait until you scoop into this chocolate malt ice cream—it’s everything you love, frozen into pure nostalgic bliss.

Chocolate Malt

One taste of a chocolate malt is all it takes to transport me back to childhood. My grandpa used to make chocolate malts for us when we visited and we’d very carefully carry them upstairs and out the second-story door to walk out on the roof and enjoy them. The excitement of being on the roof and also enjoying a frosty chocolate malt milkshake? Oh, that couldn’t be beaten.

This batch of chocolate malt ice cream took me right back to visiting my grandparents in Dewey, AZ in the summertime. There are so many memories attached to the foods we eat and I love when I can make something today that transports me back in time.

The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!

And if you love Whoppers or chocolate malted milk balls, you just might go a little crazy over this Chocolate Malted Crunch Ice Cream. Old-fashioned chocolate malt ice cream gets a little extra boost of fun from chopped malted milk balls.

Chocolate Malt Ice Cream

Making this ice cream is pretty darn easy. There are no eggs required and you won’t need a custard base for this ice cream. You’ll simply whisk together the cream, cocoa powder, malted milk powder, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer.

Stir in the chocolate until it melts, add the milk, and then chill your ice cream base until it’s good and cold. Once the mixture is cool, pour it into the ice cream maker and churn

Moist Zucchini Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake

This Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake is rich, ultra-moist, and packed with deep chocolate flavor. You’d never guess it’s made with zucchini, but that’s the secret to its soft, tender crumb!

We always end up drowning in zucchini by mid-summer (anyone else feel personally attacked by their garden?), and this cake is the easiest, most delicious way to use it up. But let’s be clear: this isn’t your grandma’s bundt cake. We’re talking deep, dark chocolate, a generous handful of chocolate chips, and a glossy ganache that’s so good, you’ll want to lick the spoon.

Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake

Dark chocolate sounds intense, right? Like it’s going to be super rich and way more work. But thanks to dark chocolate cocoa powder. (which you can now find at most grocery stores! Target usually has the best price.) It’s shockingly easy to get that deep, decadent flavor without any extra hassle.

And the best part? It’s not overpowering. The shredded zucchini keeps the crumb moist and light, while the semi-sweet mini chocolate chips add just the right sweetness. You get a bold chocolate cake that’s actually balanced.

Can I Use Regular Cocoa Powder?

Absolutely. If you don’t have dark cocoa, regular unsweetened cocoa works just fine. Want to lean darker? Use dark chocolate chips or go all in with a bittersweet ganache. Honestly, whatever chocolate you’ve got—use it. This recipe is super forgiving, and your cake will still turn out delicious.

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