Chocolate of the Day: Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

You read that correctly — Salted. Caramel. Chocolate. Chip. Cookie. Bars. And, yes, they are as amazeballs as you think they are.

What you will need:

• Flour (2 1/8 c)
• Salt (1/2 tsp)
• Baking soda (1/2 tsp)
• Butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• Light brown sugar (1 c)
• Granulated sugar (1/2 c)
• Egg (1 and just the yolk of a second one)
• Vanilla extract (2 tsp)
• Chocolate chips (2 c)
• Caramel candy squares (6 oz — I recommend unwrapping them and putting them in a small microwavable bowl before you get started. They are a bit of a pain to unwrap.)
• Milk or cream (I’ve used both and it didn’t make much difference. You just need a couple tablespoons to help melt the caramel.)
• Diced walnuts (completely optional — I used a handful or so)

This recipe makes an 8×8 square or an 13″ round pan. If you want to use a 9×13 rectangle dish, double the recipe. I can assure you it won’t go to waste. I made two double and two single batches over the holidays, and not a crumb was left over.

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Mix your flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
• With a hand mixer (or stand mixer if you are lucky enough to have the counter space for it), cream the sugars and softened butter.

• Add vanilla, egg, and egg yolk. Mix thoroughly. It will start to fluff up a bit.
• Slowly add in flour mixture. Mix well, but try not to overdo it.
• Add chocolate chips. I used semi-sweet because the final product is quite rich and sweet. I think I’m going to try the 60% cacao next time.

• Take half of the cookie dough and press into your pan. I recommend lining the pan with parchment paper, just in case the caramel oozes out. That would be a pain in the ass to chip off.
• Sprinkle the walnut pieces over the dough. Or, if you love the combination of walnuts and caramel, blanket the dough.

• Those caramel candies you unwrapped forever ago? Now, we get to the good stuff. Add a couple tablespoons of milk or cream to the caramel and pop in the microwave. I usually go in 30-second blasts, stirring and popping back in until it’s smooth. It’ll take about two minutes total, depending on your microwave.

• Pour caramel over the dough and walnuts, spread with a spoon.

• Sprinkle the caramel with coarse salt — sea salt or kosher salt seemed to make no difference.
• Top the caramel with the second half of the cookie dough. Smooth over the top the best you can. If there are small gaps, they’ll fill in as the dough melts together. Sprinkle with a little more sea salt. You know, for good measure.

• Pop in the oven for 25-35 minutes. It’ll start to get golden brown and pull away from the edges slightly.
• It will take forever to cool. It’s delicious as a gooey mess (as my husband can attest, he just had a plate), but if you can let it sit for a few hours, or even overnight, it will be so much easier to eat. Good luck waiting. It will call your name. It will haunt your dreams.