Delicious & Weight Watchers Friendly Caramel Squares: Your Guilt-Free Sweet Treat
For many of us in Canada, the Cadbury Caramilk bar holds a special place in our hearts – that perfect blend of creamy milk chocolate encasing luscious, flowing caramel. It’s a nostalgic favorite, and I’ve always loved enjoying them, especially when frozen for an extra delightful chew. My friends in the U.S. might recognize a similar indulgence in the form of a Caramello bar. The sheer joy of that caramel-chocolate combination inspired me to create something truly special: a homemade version that captures all the decadent flavor while remaining incredibly Weight Watchers friendly. And so, these delightful and surprisingly light Caramel Squares were born!
This recipe isn’t just about recreating a classic; it’s about doing so with mindful eating in mind. Each square is a little piece of heaven, boasting an amazing taste that will satisfy your sweet cravings without derailing your health goals. They are incredibly easy to whip up, making them perfect for a quick baking session, and the best part? Each serving is only 4 SmartPoints! Get ready to indulge in a treat that’s both simple to make and utterly delicious, proving that healthy eating doesn’t mean sacrificing flavor. These aren’t just any caramel bars; they are a testament to the fact that you can enjoy luxurious desserts without guilt, making them an ideal choice for anyone looking for a healthier dessert option.
Caramel Squares
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg white, for convenience, I often use 2 tablespoons of liquid egg whites
- 3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp granulated white sugar
- 3 Tbsp Smucker’s caramel sauce, remember to reserve 1 tablespoon for drizzling on top later
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 (50 g) Caramilk bar, freezing it beforehand makes it much easier to chop into small pieces (or use a similar caramel-filled chocolate bar)
- 1 Tbsp mini chocolate chips
Instructions
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Begin by preheating your oven to a precise 350°F (175°C) to ensure it reaches the ideal baking temperature. Take a 9-inch baking dish and generously coat its interior with a non-stick cooking spray. This essential preparation step ensures that your delectable caramel squares won’t stick and will be easy to remove once they are perfectly baked and cooled.
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In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the egg, egg white, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat these ingredients together until they are well combined and slightly frothy, creating a smooth and sweet base. Next, add 2 tablespoons of the Smucker’s caramel sauce (remember to save the remaining 1 tablespoon for later!), the unsweetened applesauce, milk, and vanilla extract. Stir everything thoroughly until all the wet ingredients are fully incorporated and the mixture is uniform.
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To your wet mixture, gradually add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix these dry ingredients into the batter gently, just until no streaks of flour remain. Be careful not to overmix, as this can lead to a tough texture in your finished bars. A lightly mixed batter ensures a tender and moist final product.
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Now for the star of the show: take your frozen Caramilk bar and carefully chop it into small, bite-sized pieces. Freezing the chocolate bar makes this step significantly easier and helps prevent the caramel from oozing too much, allowing for cleaner cuts and a better distribution throughout the batter.
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Gently fold the chopped frozen Caramilk pieces and the mini chocolate chips into your prepared batter. Distribute them evenly so that every square gets a delightful burst of caramel and chocolate goodness. This ensures a consistent flavor and texture throughout your batch.
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Pour the entire batter into your prepped 9-inch baking dish, spreading it evenly with a spatula. Then, take the remaining 1 tablespoon of caramel sauce you set aside earlier and artfully drizzle it over the top of the batter. You can even use a toothpick or knife to create a beautiful swirl effect for an extra touch of elegance.
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Place the baking dish into your preheated oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter. Once baked, remove the dish from the oven and let the bars cool completely in the pan before attempting to cut them. Cooling is crucial for the bars to set properly. After cooling, slice them into 12 even bars. Each bar is calculated to be 4 Personal Points, 4 SmartPoints (on blue, green & purple plans), or 3 Points Plus, making them a perfectly portioned treat for your Weight Watchers journey.
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Here’s the detailed nutritional information per bar, based on 12 servings: Calories 107, Total Fat 1.9g, Saturated Fat 0.9g, Total Carbohydrates 20.6g, Dietary Fiber 0.5g, Total Sugars 10g, Protein 2.2g. These values demonstrate how these caramel squares are a mindful choice for your sweet cravings.
Additional Info
The Sweet Inspiration: Crafting Guilt-Free Caramel Delights
My enduring love affair with the classic Caramilk bar was the driving force behind this recipe. That irresistible combination of creamy chocolate and gooey caramel has always been a top favorite. However, as someone committed to a mindful eating journey, I found myself longing for a way to enjoy that beloved flavor profile without the high caloric cost. This wasn’t just about finding a substitute; it was about creating a genuinely delicious treat that aligned with a healthier lifestyle, specifically one that fit within Weight Watchers SmartPoints. The challenge was to achieve that rich, satisfying caramel taste and texture while keeping it light, yet utterly indulgent.
After several experiments and a few delicious failures (which are often part of the baking process and lead to the best discoveries!), I finally perfected these Caramel Squares. The goal was simple: make them taste just as decadent as their store-bought counterparts, be incredibly easy to prepare, and fit seamlessly into a balanced diet. The result is a bar that surprises everyone with its deep flavor and tender crumb, all while offering a guilt-free indulgence. It’s a testament to the fact that healthy baking doesn’t mean compromising on the joyous experience of a truly satisfying dessert, and that mindful eating can be incredibly rewarding.
Why These Caramel Squares Will Become Your New Favorite
Incredibly Easy to Make
Even if you’re a novice baker, you’ll find this recipe straightforward and enjoyable. With simple, accessible ingredients and minimal steps, you can have a batch of these delicious caramel squares ready to enjoy in about 30 minutes from start to finish. It’s the perfect recipe for busy weeknights when you need a quick dessert fix, for last-minute guests, or when you simply don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen but still crave something homemade and special.
Decadent Flavor, Mindful Portions
Don’t let the “Weight Watchers friendly” label fool you – these bars are packed with rich, authentic caramel flavor and boast a delightful, chewy texture. The perfect balance of sweet and tender, with delightful pockets of chocolate and gooey caramel from the chopped Caramilk bar and mini chocolate chips, creates a truly satisfying and luxurious experience with every bite. Each square is perfectly portioned, allowing you to enjoy a treat without overindulging, making them ideal for managing cravings and staying on track with your wellness goals. They prove that you can have your cake (or, in this case, your caramel bar!) and eat it too, all while maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Versatile and Loved by All
Whether you’re serving them at a family gathering, packing them in lunchboxes for a delightful midday treat, or simply enjoying one with your afternoon coffee, these caramel squares are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Their universal appeal makes them a fantastic addition to any dessert spread, and most people won’t even realize they’re a lighter, healthier option. They are a testament to how delicious healthier treats can be, proving that you don’t need to sacrifice flavor for health or compromise on the joy of sharing delicious food with loved ones.
Ingredient Spotlight: What Makes These Bars Special
Each ingredient in this recipe plays a crucial role in achieving the perfect balance of flavor and texture, all while keeping the SmartPoints low. We strategically use a combination of packed brown sugar and granulated white sugar, not just for sweetness, but for depth of flavor and that signature caramel-like chew, though in carefully measured amounts to keep them light. The secret to our moist and tender crumb and reduced fat content comes from a clever substitution: unsweetened applesauce. This ingredient not only adds natural sweetness and essential moisture but also helps significantly reduce the overall fat content without compromising on the luxurious taste or texture. Paired with just a touch of milk and pure vanilla extract, these wet ingredients create a harmonious, flavorful base for our squares.
The star, of course, is the caramel. We opt for Smucker’s caramel sauce, which provides that classic, rich, and unmistakable caramel taste. A generous portion is skillfully mixed directly into the batter, infusing every single bite with an incredible caramel goodness. The remainder is then elegantly drizzled on top just before baking, adding an extra layer of visual appeal and an intense burst of concentrated caramel flavor. And for that authentic Caramilk experience, a frozen Caramilk bar (or a similar caramel-filled chocolate bar) is finely chopped and lovingly folded into the batter, along with a handful of mini chocolate chips, adding delightful, chewy pockets of chocolate and gooey caramel throughout the squares. Freezing the chocolate bar before chopping is a game-changer; it makes it much easier to chop into small, clean, manageable pieces, ensuring an even distribution and preventing it from melting too quickly into the batter.
Tips for Achieving Caramel Square Perfection
- Don’t Overmix: When combining the wet and dry ingredients, mix just until they are barely combined and no dry flour streaks remain. Overmixing the batter can develop the gluten in the flour too much, leading to tough, dense, and dry bars, and we want them perfectly tender and delightfully chewy.
- Frozen Chocolate is Key: Chopping a Caramilk bar (or any caramel-filled chocolate bar) when it’s partially or fully frozen is significantly easier and creates cleaner, more distinct pieces. This also helps the chocolate and caramel maintain their shape and distribute better throughout the batter without melting prematurely. Pop your bar in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to an hour before you start baking for the best results.
- Patience is a Virtue: While it might be incredibly tempting to dig in right away the moment they come out of the oven, allowing the bars to cool completely in the baking dish before cutting is absolutely essential. This crucial step helps them set properly, making for much cleaner, neater cuts and contributing to a superior, firmer overall texture. Plus, the flavors deepen and meld beautifully as they cool!
- Adjust Sweetness to Taste: The recipe is balanced for optimal flavor, but if you prefer a slightly less sweet treat, you can experiment by slightly reducing the sugar amounts (e.g., by 1/2 tablespoon each). Always taste your batter if you’re making adjustments (before adding raw egg of course!).
- Even Caramel Drizzle: For that beautiful marbled effect and an extra layer of delicious caramel in every bite, gently swirl the remaining caramel drizzle into the batter with a knife or a toothpick after you’ve poured it into the baking dish. This creates visually appealing swirls that hint at the deliciousness within.
Serving Suggestions and Creative Variations
These Weight Watchers friendly caramel squares are absolutely delightful on their own, offering a perfect balance of sweet and satisfying. However, they can also be elevated with a few simple additions to create an even more memorable dessert experience. Serve them slightly warm, perhaps gently heated in the microwave for a few seconds, with a small scoop of light vanilla ice cream or a dollop of fat-free whipped cream for a truly indulgent yet mindful dessert. They pair wonderfully with a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee, a comforting tea, or even a glass of cold milk, making them an ideal afternoon pick-me-up or a cozy evening treat. For a sophisticated and festive touch, you can sprinkle a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt on top of the caramel drizzle before baking, creating a delicious and popular salted caramel effect that enhances the sweetness.
Feeling creative and want to put your own spin on this recipe? Here are a few exciting ways to customize your caramel squares and make them uniquely yours:
- Nutty Crunch: For an added layer of texture and a boost of healthy fats, fold in 1/4 cup of finely chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds to the batter along with the chocolate chips.
- Different Chocolate: Don’t limit yourself to Caramilk! Experiment with different types of chocolate bars or candies. A dark chocolate bar could add a sophisticated bitter note to balance the sweetness, or a white chocolate bar for extra creamy sweetness. You could even try butterscotch chips for a different caramel pairing.
- Spice It Up: For warm, cozy flavors, especially during the fall and winter months, add a pinch (about 1/4 teaspoon) of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, or even a tiny dash of cardamom to the dry ingredients. These spices beautifully complement the caramel.
- Coconut Craving: If you love tropical flavors, fold in a tablespoon or two of shredded unsweetened coconut into the batter. The coconut adds a lovely chewiness and unique flavor dimension.
- Citrus Zest: A teaspoon of orange or lemon zest can brighten up the flavors and add an unexpected, refreshing twist.
Storage Tips to Keep Them Fresh
To keep your delicious Weight Watchers friendly caramel squares fresh and enjoyable for as long as possible, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They will maintain their deliciousness and ideal texture for up to 3-4 days. If you prefer to extend their freshness even further, you can refrigerate them for up to a week; just be sure to bring them back to room temperature or warm them slightly before serving for the best experience. For extended preservation, these bars freeze beautifully! Simply wrap individual squares tightly in plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn, then place them in a freezer-safe bag or container. They will keep exceptionally well in the freezer for up to 2-3 months. When a craving strikes, just thaw them at room temperature for a quick, convenient, and satisfying treat.
Embrace the Joy of Weight Watchers Friendly Baking
This recipe for caramel squares is a shining example of how you can truly enjoy your favorite treats and indulge your sweet tooth while staying true to your health and wellness journey. Weight Watchers friendly baking opens up a world of possibilities for delicious, satisfying desserts that fit perfectly into your SmartPoints budget, allowing you to experience pure culinary delight without any accompanying guilt. By making small, intelligent substitutions and being mindful of ingredients, you can savor sweet moments and feel good about what you’re eating. These caramel squares are more than just a dessert; they’re a celebration of balanced living, the pure joy of homemade treats, and the discovery that healthy choices can be incredibly delicious and rewarding.