Caramel Crunch Bars

Last year at Thanksgiving I made all of these wonderful seasonal treats… apple pies, pumpkin cupcakes, sweet potato corn bread, pumpkin cookies, and more! They were all delicious and fit perfectly with the Fall theme.

The problem arose that Thanksgiving day when my daughter, who was so excited when the moment for dessert rolled around, walked over to the dessert table and peered at everything. Then came back to me in tears…. “Mommy!” she said, “There isn’t anything that I like!” I had gotten so into the traditional seasonal desserts that I had not created something for those of us who just prefer plain old chocolate. Oops!

So this year I made a few treats with chocolate lovers in mind. Starting with these caramel crunch bars. They are so good! It’s hard to eat just one.

Begin by making the cookie base of your bars. Preheat oven to 375°F. For the cookie base, you will need:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• 6 Tablespoons white sugar
• 1 egg and 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp pure vanilla

Begin by blending the butter and your sugars for 2-4 minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat until fluffy, scraping sides as you go.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix on low or by hand just until blended.

Use parchment paper or grease a 8×8 inch pan. Spread the cookie dough evenly across the pan, taking care to spread it all the way to the edges.

Cook the dough for 7-10 minutes or until light golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cover the cookie with chocolate chips. They will begin to melt from the heat. Spread them evenly over the top of the cookie. Allow to cool completely. When it has cooled place cookie in fridge.

While the chocolate is hardening, make my perfect caramel sauce. You can follow the easy instructions using the previous link!

To make the caramel sauce you will need:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup of white sugar

Once you have made the caramel, leave it to on the stove top to cool. Measure your nuts while it is cooling. You will need approximately 3/4 cup to one cup whole nuts. You can use only peanuts or a nut mixture. When the caramel has cooled add your nuts to the caramel sauce and stir. When the nuts are well mixed in with the caramel, spread the sauce over your cookie and chocolate base. Allow to cool overnight. Keep chilled until you serve them.

Enjoy!