Tempt My Tummy Tuesday - Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bars

Chocolate-Caramel Cookie Bars (Martha Stewart Living November 2009)

This is a cookie recipe I made the weekend we had the 4 TLC's.  They are quite rich and most certainly chocolatey. The combination of sweet and salty is just right.  They would be a great addition to a ladies tea party I think.   

Ingredients

• For the Crust

◦ 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

• For the Chocolate Caramel

◦ 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

•

Directions

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.

On a more personal note Paul and I are off the sugar and trying to undue the damage we did with our cruise to Alaska, trip to Kentucky and simply being undisciplined for too long.  When we changed our eating habits we both felt better and we really must get back to it.  So no more Chocolate Caramel Bars for us but hope you enjoy them if you give the recipe a try.

Linked to http://www.blessedwithgrace.net/ today for lots of great recipe ideas.