June 12, 2014

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Candy Bar Cookies

Big E Fair in MA

These Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Candy Bar Cookies were so fun to make. My elation came from experimenting and making them in a variety of ways…and of course tasting and sharing them with others.

In their previous form, these hailed from the Big E Fair, where Francis, a local “contester” won a blue ribbon with her Grandma’s Favorite Cookies. As an aside here: the Big E is not a state fair technically, but it is a huge and highly regarded fair in the Northeast, and we love great fairs! Anyway. I digress. Back to the cookie!

Salted caramel is pretty much a “sure thing” as a crowd pleaser…and we all loved this one. I’ve adapted the recipe some, but it’s inspired by what the winner Francis made. The delicious cookie dough has chocolate chips and chunks of chocolate-caramel candy bars (think Cadberry Caramello). It’s topped with a sprinkling of sea salt before you bake it. I finished these with a caramel drizzle. I will never tire of the salty/sweet combo. And when I say never, I mean never!

See the full recipe below, but for some inspiration, here are the main steps. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.

Separately, mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking soda) and add them to the wet ingredients. Then add the chocolate chips and candy bar chunks.

I used a knife to incorporate the candy bar chunks more evenly throughout the dough. It worked great. About now it looks like this. 

Spoon out the dough and roll into balls. I did mine about 1 1/2-inch round in size.

Place them on your prepped baking sheet, flatten them slightly with the bottom of a glass and add a sprinkling of salt.

Bake at 350 for about 12-14 minutes, or until a slight brown shows up around the edges. I like a crispier cookie, at least on the outside, so the first time around I put mine in on the longer side. I experimented with another batch and did smaller cookies that ended up tasting like revamped chips ahoy. Another time I took them out on the early side for my peeps who like their cookies more tender. My final batch I baked the dough into mini muffin tins. Perfect for topping with ice cream.

This was how I served them as dessert to friends who gave them a huge thumbs up. They have already asked when they can come by again for “seconds.” And that pleases me to no end.

-Cyndi

Caramel Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 cups Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt (+ extra for sprinkling)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup caramel/chocolate candy bar pieces (about 2 bars, loosely chopped)*

1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. In a separate large bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking soda until blended. Using a small spoon, scoop out dough and roll into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place on baking sheet (non-stick or lined with parchment paper). Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass. Top with sprinklings of salt. Bake in pre-heated oven (350 degrees F) for about 12-14 minutes or until just slightly brown. Drizzle with caramel ice cream topping. Makes about 36 cookies.

*Double this if you want to up the gooey goodness in the coookie.

–Recipe inspired by Francis’ Grandma’s Favorite Cookies, Big E Winner, 2013 Gold Medal Flour Cookie Contest