Chocolate Chip Caramel Crumble Bars

I really try hard to plan what I am baking, but I have to admit that I am often swayed at the last minute by something that I see online. I saw this recipe last Friday, and I knew that it would be the recipe for this week. I love a good bar cookie. This is a cream cheese bar cookie, which I haven’t made in a while, and it contains chocolate chips and caramel bits. Caramel bits are one of my favorite ingredients and I always try to keep them in the cupboard, as they can be a little hard to find at the store.

Unless I get home right on time from work, it can be a tight timeline for me to get bar cookies baked, cooled, cut, and photographed. These bar cookies chill even a little longer because they contain cream cheese and it sets up better when chilled. I decided to make these the night before, so that they would have plenty of time to chill. Good thing I did, because I didn’t get to leave work on time!

Although these are a layered bar cookie, they come together with two main steps: the crust and then everything else. The oat base with the cream cheese filling is the perfect canvas for any flavor that you wanted. I can envision these bars with any combination of chips or nuts or even some dried fruit. Cut these when they are cold, but with the caramel bits, make sure they come to room temperature before serving. Ice cold caramel is hard on your teeth! These are very tasty and contain some great flavors, you don’t want to miss out.

Chocolate Chip Caramel Crumble Bars

2 cups flour

1 ¼ cups oats

¾ cups packed brown sugar

1 cup butter, room temperature

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup Caramel Bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, oats, and brown sugar. Add the butter to the bowl and mix on medium until the mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1-1/2 cups of crumbs for the topping and set aside. Press the remaining mixture evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake for 15 minutes. Make the topping while the crust is baking.

In the same mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until light. Add the eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla and stir until the mixture is smooth.

Once you remove the baked crust from the oven, pour the cream cheese mixture over the hot crust. Sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips and then the caramel bits. Crumble the reserved crumb mixture over the top of the bars.   

Bake for 30-35, until the bars are light brown around the edges. Allow to cool for one hour on a wire rack and then refrigerate several hours before cutting into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

Recipe from A Family Feast

Chocolate Chip Caramel Crumble Bars

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I really try hard to plan what I am baking, but I have to admit that I am often swayed at the last minute by something that I see online. I saw this recipe last Friday, and I knew that it would be the recipe for this week. I love a good bar cookie. This is a cream cheese bar cookie, which I haven’t made in a while, and it contains chocolate chips and caramel bits. Caramel bits are one of my favorite ingredients and I always try to keep them in the cupboard, as they can be a little hard to find at the store.

Unless I get home right on time from work, it can be a tight timeline for me to get bar cookies baked, cooled, cut, and photographed. These bar cookies chill even a little longer because they contain cream cheese and it sets up better when chilled. I decided to make these the night before, so that they would have plenty of time to chill. Good thing I did, because I didn’t get to leave work on time!

Although these are a layered bar cookie, they come together with two main steps: the crust and then everything else. The oat base with the cream cheese filling is the perfect canvas for any flavor that you wanted. I can envision these bars with any combination of chips or nuts or even some dried fruit. Cut these when they are cold, but with the caramel bits, make sure they come to room temperature before serving. Ice cold caramel is hard on your teeth! These are very tasty and contain some great flavors, you don’t want to miss out.

Chocolate Chip Caramel Crumble Bars

2 cups flour

1 ¼ cups oats

¾ cups packed brown sugar

1 cup butter, room temperature

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup Caramel Bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, oats, and brown sugar. Add the butter to the bowl and mix on medium until the mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1-1/2 cups of crumbs for the topping and set aside. Press the remaining mixture evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake for 15 minutes. Make the topping while the crust is baking.

In the same mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until light. Add the eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla and stir until the mixture is smooth.

Once you remove the baked crust from the oven, pour the cream cheese mixture over the hot crust. Sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips and then the caramel bits. Crumble the reserved crumb mixture over the top of the bars.   

Bake for 30-35, until the bars are light brown around the edges. Allow to cool for one hour on a wire rack and then refrigerate several hours before cutting into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

Recipe from A Family Feast

Double Chocolate Cookies

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is for Double Chocolate Cookies. I love baking cookies so I knew this one was right up my alley! This is the perfect easy-to-make cookie because you can make the dough when you have the time and then bake them up another day when you have time. I made the dough one night when I had a little time and then baked them up the next day when I got home from work. Now, I don’t think that cookie baking is all that difficult, but it was super convenient to just come home and start baking.

At first, I had thought about making a half batch of cookies, but I ended up deciding to make these so I could take them to a meeting at work. (Make cookies once for a meeting, you really raise expectations!) 

This recipe calls for a pound of chocolate (bittersweet and unsweetened) to just ½ cup of flour. There is instant coffee in the dough, which I’m always happy to see because it brings out the flavor of the chocolate. I think you can taste the coffee just a tiny bit, but it isn’t a strong flavor.

This dough is so runny that there’s just no way that you could bake these without refrigerating them first. 

Even after refrigerating the dough overnight, the dough was on the soft side. They baked up very nicely; mine didn’t spread too much. These cookies are very soft and have an intense chocolate flavor. They do taste a lot like brownies, which is very nice. You can get the recipe for these cookies with a simple search of the web, and don’t forget to check out the links for this week’s cookies by the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers.

Recipe from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan, page 329

Double Chocolate Cookies

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This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is for Double Chocolate Cookies. I love baking cookies so I knew this one was right up my alley! This is the perfect easy-to-make cookie because you can make the dough when you have the time and then bake them up another day when you have time. I made the dough one night when I had a little time and then baked them up the next day when I got home from work. Now, I don’t think that cookie baking is all that difficult, but it was super convenient to just come home and start baking.

At first, I had thought about making a half batch of cookies, but I ended up deciding to make these so I could take them to a meeting at work. (Make cookies once for a meeting, you really raise expectations!) 

This recipe calls for a pound of chocolate (bittersweet and unsweetened) to just ½ cup of flour. There is instant coffee in the dough, which I’m always happy to see because it brings out the flavor of the chocolate. I think you can taste the coffee just a tiny bit, but it isn’t a strong flavor.

This dough is so runny that there’s just no way that you could bake these without refrigerating them first. 

Even after refrigerating the dough overnight, the dough was on the soft side. They baked up very nicely; mine didn’t spread too much. These cookies are very soft and have an intense chocolate flavor. They do taste a lot like brownies, which is very nice. You can get the recipe for these cookies with a simple search of the web, and don’t forget to check out the links for this week’s cookies by the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers.

Recipe from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan, page 329

Peppermint Bliss Bark - SRC

For this month's Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned to Wendy's blog, The Weekend Gourmet.  I had a lot of fun browsing through her recipes and, although I saw some tasty-looking pasta recipes, I kept finding myself drawn back again and again to her Peppermint Bliss Bark.  Who can blame me?  One look at hers and you'll see it's stunning.  Not to mention, it's HER original recipe (genius).  So, I bring you Christmas in November.

This bark is so quick and easy to make.  No cooking, no baking, and very little prep time.  I think I whipped up the whole thing in less than an hour.  In fact, the most time-consuming part of it was crushing the peppermint candies.  Seriously, I do not know why someone has not thought to sell peppermint candies already crushed.  Bakers all over the world would be grateful.  I made short work of it though by putting them in a ziplock bag, putting it onto a paper bag in my driveway, and pounding on it with the end of a small dumbbell.  Whatever works, right?

I did make a couple changes to the recipe.  First, I tempered my chocolate so that I wouldn't have to worry about keeping the bark in the fridge to prevent it from melting.  Then, instead of using mini Oreos, I crushed up some regular sized ones since that's what I had.  Otherwise, it was Wendy's way all the way.

Let me tell you, this bark is perfect for the holidays.  It's not only beautiful but absolutely delicious.  There's a little crunch from the cookies, a little chew from the marshmallows, and a lot of chocolatey-minty goodness in every bite.  I loved that the peppermint flavor wasn't too overpowering and that the bark itself wasn't overly sweet like other storebought ones.  I've never made chocolate bark before, but you can bet it's going to be a new holiday tradition from now on.

BTW:  I took some of this to work and it disappeared fast!  They loved it!  

Thank you Wendy for giving me a great idea for Christmas.  Loved the bark!

Peppermint Bliss Bark (adapted from The Weekend Gourmet)

2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. mini marshmallows
1 c. crushed Oreos
1 c. crushed peppermint candies
1/2 c. white chocolate chips

Melt 1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave.  Remove from the microwave and stir in the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips until completely melted.  Add mini marshmallows, Oreos, and 1/2 cup peppermint pieces.  Stir gently to combine.

Spread the mixture evenly on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Melt the white chocolate chips and drizzle over the top.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup peppermint pieces.  Place in the fridge to help it harden quicker.  Once it's hardened, it can be stored outside of the fridge.  

Peppermint Bliss Bark - SRC

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For this month's Secret Recipe Club, I was assigned to Wendy's blog, The Weekend Gourmet.  I had a lot of fun browsing through her recipes and, although I saw some tasty-looking pasta recipes, I kept finding myself drawn back again and again to her Peppermint Bliss Bark.  Who can blame me?  One look at hers and you'll see it's stunning.  Not to mention, it's HER original recipe (genius).  So, I bring you Christmas in November.

This bark is so quick and easy to make.  No cooking, no baking, and very little prep time.  I think I whipped up the whole thing in less than an hour.  In fact, the most time-consuming part of it was crushing the peppermint candies.  Seriously, I do not know why someone has not thought to sell peppermint candies already crushed.  Bakers all over the world would be grateful.  I made short work of it though by putting them in a ziplock bag, putting it onto a paper bag in my driveway, and pounding on it with the end of a small dumbbell.  Whatever works, right?

I did make a couple changes to the recipe.  First, I tempered my chocolate so that I wouldn't have to worry about keeping the bark in the fridge to prevent it from melting.  Then, instead of using mini Oreos, I crushed up some regular sized ones since that's what I had.  Otherwise, it was Wendy's way all the way.

Let me tell you, this bark is perfect for the holidays.  It's not only beautiful but absolutely delicious.  There's a little crunch from the cookies, a little chew from the marshmallows, and a lot of chocolatey-minty goodness in every bite.  I loved that the peppermint flavor wasn't too overpowering and that the bark itself wasn't overly sweet like other storebought ones.  I've never made chocolate bark before, but you can bet it's going to be a new holiday tradition from now on.

BTW:  I took some of this to work and it disappeared fast!  They loved it!  

Thank you Wendy for giving me a great idea for Christmas.  Loved the bark!

Peppermint Bliss Bark (adapted from The Weekend Gourmet)

2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. mini marshmallows
1 c. crushed Oreos
1 c. crushed peppermint candies
1/2 c. white chocolate chips

Melt 1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips in the microwave.  Remove from the microwave and stir in the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips until completely melted.  Add mini marshmallows, Oreos, and 1/2 cup peppermint pieces.  Stir gently to combine.

Spread the mixture evenly on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Melt the white chocolate chips and drizzle over the top.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup peppermint pieces.  Place in the fridge to help it harden quicker.  Once it's hardened, it can be stored outside of the fridge.  

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes

I was at the craft store earlier in the month and they had all of their Halloween baking supplies on sale. I seem to be a sucker for holiday themed cupcake liners. Of course if I need to bake cupcakes for a non-holiday, I’m usually out of luck. I saw these candy corn themed liners and I liked them, but I saw the little sugar ghosts holding candy corn and I couldn’t resist. I figured I would make some sort of cupcakes before Halloween, so I would be set.

I had some graham cracker crumbs left over, so I had recently looked for recipes that would use the crumbs. These cupcakes have a graham cracker base and topping, so they would be perfect. I made my cupcakes in the mini liners, so the ingredients listed here are for half a batch. I made 2 dozen mini cupcakes plus 5 regular sized cupcakes. 

The batter for these cupcakes is so thin you may think you’ve done something wrong, but you haven’t. This recipe make the nicest cupcakes ever: not dry, great chocolate flavor, and they kept fresh for several days. The 4 egg whites make way more frosting than you need, but it’s hard to cut the recipe any more. I did use my handy kitchen torch to toast the marshmallow frosting but you have to be careful, as I did scorch a couple of my cupcake liners. Be careful when you are playing with fire!

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes

1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

6-1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup boiling water

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons butter, melted

4 egg whites

1 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 mini muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Make the cupcakes: In a large mixer bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low to ensure that the ingredients are combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture and beat on medium until smooth. Add the boiling water and stir to combine. The batter will be very thin.

In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar and melted butter. Stir until the mixture comes together.

Place 1 teaspoon of the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup. Press the crumbs into the bottom of each liner (I used a tart tamper; you could also use your fingers.) Reserve the remaining graham cracker mixture for topping.

Bake the graham cracker base for 5 minutes, until golden. Fill the muffin cups ¾ full and sprinkle with some of the remaining graham cracker mixture.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, until firm and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcake in the pan for 15 minutes and then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the frosting: Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a medium bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (the water should not touch the bowl with the egg whites). Whisk the whites until the sugar is dissolved and whites are warm, 3 to 4 minutes.

Transfer the warmed egg whites to a large mixer bowl. Using the whisk attachment beat the mixture on low and gradually increase to high speed. Beat until stiff and glossy, 5-7 minutes. Add the vanilla and stir to combine. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe the frosting on the cooled cupcakes. Using a kitchen torch, brown the tops of the cupcakes.

Recipe from Culinary Serendipity

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes

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I was at the craft store earlier in the month and they had all of their Halloween baking supplies on sale. I seem to be a sucker for holiday themed cupcake liners. Of course if I need to bake cupcakes for a non-holiday, I’m usually out of luck. I saw these candy corn themed liners and I liked them, but I saw the little sugar ghosts holding candy corn and I couldn’t resist. I figured I would make some sort of cupcakes before Halloween, so I would be set.

I had some graham cracker crumbs left over, so I had recently looked for recipes that would use the crumbs. These cupcakes have a graham cracker base and topping, so they would be perfect. I made my cupcakes in the mini liners, so the ingredients listed here are for half a batch. I made 2 dozen mini cupcakes plus 5 regular sized cupcakes. 

The batter for these cupcakes is so thin you may think you’ve done something wrong, but you haven’t. This recipe make the nicest cupcakes ever: not dry, great chocolate flavor, and they kept fresh for several days. The 4 egg whites make way more frosting than you need, but it’s hard to cut the recipe any more. I did use my handy kitchen torch to toast the marshmallow frosting but you have to be careful, as I did scorch a couple of my cupcake liners. Be careful when you are playing with fire!

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes

1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

6-1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup boiling water

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons butter, melted

4 egg whites

1 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 mini muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Make the cupcakes: In a large mixer bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low to ensure that the ingredients are combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture and beat on medium until smooth. Add the boiling water and stir to combine. The batter will be very thin.

In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar and melted butter. Stir until the mixture comes together.

Place 1 teaspoon of the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup. Press the crumbs into the bottom of each liner (I used a tart tamper; you could also use your fingers.) Reserve the remaining graham cracker mixture for topping.

Bake the graham cracker base for 5 minutes, until golden. Fill the muffin cups ¾ full and sprinkle with some of the remaining graham cracker mixture.

Bake for 16-18 minutes, until firm and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcake in the pan for 15 minutes and then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the frosting: Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a medium bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (the water should not touch the bowl with the egg whites). Whisk the whites until the sugar is dissolved and whites are warm, 3 to 4 minutes.

Transfer the warmed egg whites to a large mixer bowl. Using the whisk attachment beat the mixture on low and gradually increase to high speed. Beat until stiff and glossy, 5-7 minutes. Add the vanilla and stir to combine. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe the frosting on the cooled cupcakes. Using a kitchen torch, brown the tops of the cupcakes.

Recipe from Culinary Serendipity

Nutella, I Love You.

Can any cookies with Nutella, chocolate chips, and sea salt be wrong?  Um, no. 

We needed to head out the door at 10:45 Saturday morning, and I wanted to bring along some cookies.  Of course, I decided to bring cookies at about 11pm the night before.  The goal: make cookies that were quick and that used ingredients I already had in the house.  Oh yeah, and I wanted them to be delicious.

Enter Nutella, chocolate chips, espresso powder, and a little sprinkling of sea salt.  *sigh*

Mr. E said these are the best cookies he's had all year.  Pretty good for cookies thrown together on a Saturday morning, don't ya think?

The Nutella and brown sugar combine to make a chewy, almost brownie-like cookie.  And they're petite, so don't feel guilty about eating several at one time.  Please, PLEASE don't skip the sea salt here.  That little sprinkle of salt makes these cookies sing!

Fleur de sel is always a good choice for sea salt.  I happened to have some Falksalt on hand...it comes in rather large flakes, so I just crushed them with my fingertips before sprinkling onto the cookies.  Just don't use table salt. ;)  Or Lawry's Seasoned Salt for that matter.

Nutella Chocolate Chip Sea Salt-Sprinkled Cookies
{makes about 2 dozen}

1 cup Nutella
2 TBSP light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 cup + 2 TBSP flour
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
sea salt

[note: espresso powder can be found in the grocery store near the Sanka, or online.]

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together the Nutella and the brown sugar.  Stir in the egg until well mixed.  Add in the espresso powder, then the flour, stirring until combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Refrigerate for 15 minutes or more.

Use a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto the prepared sheets.  Sprinkle each cookie dough mound with a bit of sea salt.

{Alternately, after scooping the dough, press down slightly with the bottom of a drinking glass.  Both methods turn out just fine.  The flattened ones are just, well, more flat.}

Bake for 10 minutes or until done.  Let sit on the cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Nutella, it's official.  I love you.

---

Nutella, I Love You.

Posted by admin No comments

Can any cookies with Nutella, chocolate chips, and sea salt be wrong?  Um, no. 

We needed to head out the door at 10:45 Saturday morning, and I wanted to bring along some cookies.  Of course, I decided to bring cookies at about 11pm the night before.  The goal: make cookies that were quick and that used ingredients I already had in the house.  Oh yeah, and I wanted them to be delicious.

Enter Nutella, chocolate chips, espresso powder, and a little sprinkling of sea salt.  *sigh*

Mr. E said these are the best cookies he's had all year.  Pretty good for cookies thrown together on a Saturday morning, don't ya think?

The Nutella and brown sugar combine to make a chewy, almost brownie-like cookie.  And they're petite, so don't feel guilty about eating several at one time.  Please, PLEASE don't skip the sea salt here.  That little sprinkle of salt makes these cookies sing!

Fleur de sel is always a good choice for sea salt.  I happened to have some Falksalt on hand...it comes in rather large flakes, so I just crushed them with my fingertips before sprinkling onto the cookies.  Just don't use table salt. ;)  Or Lawry's Seasoned Salt for that matter.

Nutella Chocolate Chip Sea Salt-Sprinkled Cookies
{makes about 2 dozen}

1 cup Nutella
2 TBSP light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 cup + 2 TBSP flour
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
sea salt

[note: espresso powder can be found in the grocery store near the Sanka, or online.]

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together the Nutella and the brown sugar.  Stir in the egg until well mixed.  Add in the espresso powder, then the flour, stirring until combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips.

Refrigerate for 15 minutes or more.

Use a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto the prepared sheets.  Sprinkle each cookie dough mound with a bit of sea salt.

{Alternately, after scooping the dough, press down slightly with the bottom of a drinking glass.  Both methods turn out just fine.  The flattened ones are just, well, more flat.}

Bake for 10 minutes or until done.  Let sit on the cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Nutella, it's official.  I love you.

---

Mars Bars Squares

I’ve been posting to Cookies on Friday for nearly five years. Every Friday I post a new cookie recipe that I’ve made. I try and plan to always make sure that I have a recipe to post and I have never missed a Friday. This week was really a challenge and I was beginning to panic at the thought that I might not have a recipe to post. It’s very hot in my house, we were out of town for a few days, etc. I usually have some recipes in reserve that I can use, but not this time.

A friend at work suggested “Flashback Friday” where I post a recipe that I have made previously. While I didn’t do that this week, it’s a great idea if I’m in a bind. There are quite a few recipes that I posted long ago that I wouldn’t mind highlighting! For this week, I did eventually find a no-bake cookie recipe that I could make. No-bakes are still not perfect, as you have to stand over a stove, but it is better than turning on the oven.

This recipe is from a Canadian publication, but it feel s really British. The Mars bars here are the ones sold in the UK, in a red and black wrapper. The closest we have here in the States is the Milky Way bar. They are very similar, but the caramel and the fluffy part are a different ratio. I used Cocoa Krispies for this recipe (because my husband was with me at the store and said “Let’s try those!”) and they worked great. Now I have a big box to use up and eat. I hope he likes Cocoa Krispies. These are quite chocolatey, and I love the caramel flavor. Wow, these are one of those addicting cookies that you can’t stop eating!

Mars Bars Squares

4 Mars Bars, each about 1.8 ounces, cut in pieces

½ cup butter, cut in pieces

3 cups Crispy Rice Cereal

1 cup chocolate chips

3 tablespoons vegetable shortening

1/3 cup white chocolate chips

2 teaspoons vegetable shortening

Line a 9-inch square pan with foil and spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large saucepan, combine the Mars Bar pieces and the butter. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Don’t worry if the mixture seems to separate; it will come together.

Remove from the heat and stir in the Crispy Rice Cereal. Stir until the cereal is fully coated. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan. Press down to compress and even out the mixture. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Make the chocolate topping: in a medium bowl combine the chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Continue microwaving in 30 second increments until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour over the chilled cereal mixture and spread evenly. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Make the white chocolate garnish: in a small bowl combine the white chocolate chips and the 2 teaspoons vegetable shortening. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth. Watch carefully: white chocolate scorches very easily if it gets too hot. Drizzle over the bars and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Lift the foil from the pan and peel away the foil. Cut into squares.

Recipe from Most Loved Recipe Collection

Mars Bars Squares

Posted by admin No comments

I’ve been posting to Cookies on Friday for nearly five years. Every Friday I post a new cookie recipe that I’ve made. I try and plan to always make sure that I have a recipe to post and I have never missed a Friday. This week was really a challenge and I was beginning to panic at the thought that I might not have a recipe to post. It’s very hot in my house, we were out of town for a few days, etc. I usually have some recipes in reserve that I can use, but not this time.

A friend at work suggested “Flashback Friday” where I post a recipe that I have made previously. While I didn’t do that this week, it’s a great idea if I’m in a bind. There are quite a few recipes that I posted long ago that I wouldn’t mind highlighting! For this week, I did eventually find a no-bake cookie recipe that I could make. No-bakes are still not perfect, as you have to stand over a stove, but it is better than turning on the oven.

This recipe is from a Canadian publication, but it feel s really British. The Mars bars here are the ones sold in the UK, in a red and black wrapper. The closest we have here in the States is the Milky Way bar. They are very similar, but the caramel and the fluffy part are a different ratio. I used Cocoa Krispies for this recipe (because my husband was with me at the store and said “Let’s try those!”) and they worked great. Now I have a big box to use up and eat. I hope he likes Cocoa Krispies. These are quite chocolatey, and I love the caramel flavor. Wow, these are one of those addicting cookies that you can’t stop eating!

Mars Bars Squares

4 Mars Bars, each about 1.8 ounces, cut in pieces

½ cup butter, cut in pieces

3 cups Crispy Rice Cereal

1 cup chocolate chips

3 tablespoons vegetable shortening

1/3 cup white chocolate chips

2 teaspoons vegetable shortening

Line a 9-inch square pan with foil and spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large saucepan, combine the Mars Bar pieces and the butter. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Don’t worry if the mixture seems to separate; it will come together.

Remove from the heat and stir in the Crispy Rice Cereal. Stir until the cereal is fully coated. Spread the mixture in the prepared pan. Press down to compress and even out the mixture. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Make the chocolate topping: in a medium bowl combine the chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Continue microwaving in 30 second increments until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour over the chilled cereal mixture and spread evenly. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Make the white chocolate garnish: in a small bowl combine the white chocolate chips and the 2 teaspoons vegetable shortening. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth. Watch carefully: white chocolate scorches very easily if it gets too hot. Drizzle over the bars and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Lift the foil from the pan and peel away the foil. Cut into squares.

Recipe from Most Loved Recipe Collection