Crunchy Salty Sweet

Every time before making a sweet to share with you guys, I ask Andrew if he has any requests. I would say about 94% of the time, he asks for these bars. They combine the delicious gooeyness of salted caramel with two thick and rich chocolate chip cookie layers that basically taste like cookie dough.

If you’re ever looking for the absolute perfect sweet to share, I promise you, this is it.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Grease a 9-inch square pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of your standing mixer, beat the melted butter and sugars on medium speed until combined.

Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix on low, just until combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

In a medium sized microwave-safe bowl, combine the caramels and heavy cream. (Notice the coffee consumption between pre and post-unwrapping lol)

Microwave on high until the caramels are melted, stirring every 30 seconds (2-3 mins). It will seem like the caramel will never come together, but just trust the process. 😛

Separate the cookie dough into two halves.

Press the first half of the cookie dough into the pan using your fingers.

Pour the hot caramel over the dough cookie dough and spread into an even layer, leaving some empty space around the edges.

Sprinkle the caramel lightly with sea salt.

Take the remaining dough and form it into roughly the shape of the pan. Place it on top of the caramel and press ever-so-slightly until it fully covers the pan.

Sprinkle the bars with additional sea salt.

Bake the cookie bars for 30 minutes, or until the tops of the bars are light golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the pan.

Cool on a wire rack to room temperature, then refrigerate for about 30 minutes to allow the caramel layer to set.

Cut into squares and serve.

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Adapted from: Two Peas & Their Pod

Makes: 24 small bars

Prep: 15 minutes, Cook: 30 minutes, Total: 45 minutes

• 2 1/8 C all purpose flour
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 12 T unsalted butter, melted then cooled
• 1 C light brown sugar
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 t vanilla extract
• 2 C of chocolate chips
• 10 oz of Kraft caramel squares
• 3 T of heavy cream
• Sea salt for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Grease a 9-inch square pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of your standing mixer, beat the melted butter and sugars on medium speed until combined.

Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix on low, just until combined.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

In a medium sized microwave-safe bowl, combine the caramels and heavy cream.

Microwave on high until the caramels are melted, stirring every 30 seconds (2-3 mins)

Separate the cookie dough into two halves.

Press the first half of the cookie dough into the pan using your fingers.

Pour the hot caramel over the dough cookie dough and spread into an even layer, leaving some empty space around the edges.

Sprinkle the caramel lightly with sea salt.

Take the remaining dough and form it into roughly the shape of the pan. Place it on top of the caramel and press ever-so-slightly until it fully covers the pan.

Sprinkle the bars with additional sea salt.

Bake the cookie bars for 30 minutes, or until the tops of the bars are light golden brown and the edges start to pull away from the pan.

Cool on a wire rack to room temperature, then refrigerate for about 30 minutes to allow the caramel layer to set.

Cut into squares and serve.