Chocolate-Caramel Cookie Bars

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Chocolate-Caramel Cookie BarsAs soon as I saw this recipe in the magazine I ripped out the page and pushed it to the top of my recipe list. Chocolate-caramel and a cookie base, what could be bad, right?

Well. I wanted to like these. And I was sure I would like these. But I didn’t. The crust was good but the chocolate caramel was just too sweet for me. WHAT? I know, I can’t believe I said that either. I don’t think I’ve ever referred to anything as too sweet.

Has you tried these? What did you think?

Photos of the process here.

Crust Ingredients
4 1/2 ounces (9 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for parchment
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt

Chocolate Caramel Ingredients
10 1/2 ounces milk chocolate, chopped (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon sea salt, preferably fleur de sel

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the crust: Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on all sides; butter parchment, excluding overhang. Beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour and table salt, and beat until just combined.
  2. Press dough evenly into pan, and bake until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.
  3. Make the chocolate caramel: Place chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, washing sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming, until amber, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter, cream, and table salt. Bring to a boil, stirring until smooth. Pour over chocolate. Let stand for 2 minutes. Stir to combine, and let stand until cool, about 10 minutes.
  4. Pour mixture over crust. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. Run a knife around edges; lift parchment to remove whole bar from pan. Sprinkle with sea salt. Trim edges, and cut into 16 bars. Bars can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Recipe from Martha Stewart Living.

Comments

6 Responses to “Chocolate-Caramel Cookie Bars”

    Sarah on 1 December 26th, 2009 7:27 pm

    What a shame! They sure LOOK tasty! Maybe you can make them again but adjust the recipe to make it less sweet? 🙂

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    Seanna Lea on 5 December 28th, 2009 9:07 am

    I haven’t made these, but I would probably have used bittersweet chocolate instead of milk chocolate. I can’t imagine that most milk chocolate-based recipes need that much extra sugar (even if it is required for the caramel).

    Alta on 6 December 28th, 2009 11:34 am

    I wonder if you used bittersweet if it wouldn’t be better. Haha, just saw that another commenter suggested that. 🙂 Guess we think alike. Sorry you didn’t like them – but I suppose that’s all part of our baking-learning-process! BTW, I received that book Christmas Eve, and it was a wonderful Christmas gift! I’m so excited to try out the recipes. Thank you!