1 1/2 c. vegan margarine, melted

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

2 c. gluten-free flour

2 t. baking soda

2 c. Golden Prairie gluten-free rolled oats (certified to less than 5 ppm gliadin)

1/2 recipe vegan caramel sauce

8 oz. chocolate chips

Make the vegan caramel sauce and allow it to cool on the stovetop.

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

Melt the margarine in the microwave in a large microwave-safe mixing bowl. Once the margarine is melted (don't worry if it's not absolutely all melted), add the brown sugar to the bowl and mix them together. Add in the flour and baking soda and mix until combined. Stir in the oats by hand until they are well incorporated.

Press 2/3 of the cookie dough into the bottom of an 9 x 13 baking pan (ungreased). Bake for 10 minutes.

Take cookies out of oven and allow to cool for 10 min. Pour the caramel sauce over the bars and then sprinkle the chocolate chips over the caramel. Crumble the rest of the cookie topping over top of the chocolate chips and caramel. Bake for 20 minutes more, until edges are golden brown and slightly crispy. Cookies will be wobbly when you take them out because of the center of molten caramel – they are baked, do not be fooled.

Wait until cookies have cooled COMPLETELY before cutting or you will have an unholy mess on your hands. Also they will be too hot to eat so just don't do it (no matter how much you want to!)

Since the recipe only uses half of the caramel sauce you made, a really great option is to double the recipe, and that way you don't have any caramel sauce leftover. Such a tragedy. :P

If you didn't want or need to make this vegan, you can use a pre-made non-vegan caramel sauce, or make your own homemade caramel sauce with sweetened condensed milk (instead of the sweetened condensed coconut milk).

I've made these as a sugar-free cookie also (not vegan or gluten-free). That version of the recipe can be found here: Sugar-Free Carmelitas

A vegan version of the recipe from the The Baker Upstairs: Carmelitas