February 25: Chocolate Chip Pecan Dulce de Leche Bars

Chocolate Chip Pecan Dulce de Leche Bars

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 (17.5 oz) pouch oatmeal cookie mix, such as Betty Crocker
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup dulce de leche, La Lechera Milk Caramel Spread, or thick sundae topping
1/2 cup toasted and chopped pecans
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9-inch square metal pan with nonstick foil.
2. In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer on low speed, mix the butter, cookie mix, egg, and cinnamon until you have a soft and crumbly dough. Press about three-quarters of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes, or until just set.
3. Spread the dulce de leche over the baked cookie dough. Stir the pecans and chocolate chips into the remaining oatmeal mixture ad crumble over the dulce de leche. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 15-17 minutes, or until the top is cooked. The bars will be jiggly, but will firm as they cool and chill. Let cool completely in the pan, then chill for 2 hours or until ready to serve. Using the foil as a handle, lift from the pan, set on a cutting board, and cut into 24 bars.

Before...

And after...

Caramel topping

Crumbly topping

Thoughts: I tried two stores and couldn't find dulce de leche so I just went the thick sundae topping route. I'd imagine the only difference is that maybe it would be thicker? When I poured the topping on (which was the whole jar), it seemed a little runny. Otherwise no issues. They were good and very well received :)

January 21: Caramel Nut Bars

Caramel Nut Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats

Topping:
1 (14 oz) package caramel bits (or unwrapped caramels)
1/3 cup half and half
1 1/4 cups lightly salted mixed nuts, roughly chopped
1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9x13 inch metal pan with nonstick foil, or line it with regular foil and spray the foil with flour-added baking spray.
2. Make the crust: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a hand held mixer, beat the butter, salt, and brown sugar on medium speed until creamy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium low and beat in the egg. Stir in the flour and oats. With wet fingers, press the mixture into the baking pan and bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until the crust appears fully set and is golden brown around the edges.
3. Make the topping: Combine the caramels and half-and-half in a small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramels are melted. Pour over the crust. Sprinkle the nuts over the caramel. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the nuts. Let cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then chill until cold. Lift from the pan, set on a cutting board, and cut into 32 bars.

You will need more nuts than that little package: see thoughts

If I was going to take them out of the pan, I would've used the parchment paper deal

I didn't use "wet fingers", I just used a spatula to spread it out

It took longer than 16-18 minutes to get this golden brown color...about 22-23 minutes

It takes forever to melt caramels!

As you can see by that one clump in the upper right corner, I ran out of patience

Thoughts: Still wishing for an actual cookie instead of a bar (although bars are quicker and easier).  I used a blend of peanuts and cashews (just what we had in the house).  Because I knew that I was only going to make 1/2 with nuts, I took out a 3/4 cup measuring cup and just eyeballed how much I would need. After tasting, they were better than last week's cookie.  The crust was buttery and how can you go wrong with caramel and chocolate chips??