Have you guys seen the movie Elf? Do you remember that scene where Buddy is eating dinner with the family and says “We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.” Well that pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter too; I have such a huge sweet tooth it’s not even funny. The things that other people complain are way too sweet? Those are the ones I usually love the most! I remember as a kid my grandmother used to sprinkle sugar on sliced tomatoes (I quickly followed her lead, and still put sugar on tomatoes to this day) so maybe I should blame her? π
In the past few years, I’ve really come to appreciate the addition of some flaky sea salt to my favorite sweets. It’s such a great combo, and salted caramel sauce has got to be one of the best examples. I love it as is (seriously, give me a jar and a spoon and I’m a very happy girl), but it’s also a fun way to jazz up traditional baked goods, like brownies and cheesecake. And now, we can add cookies to the list too!
I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for a while, and I’m so glad I finally pushed it to the top of my to-do list. A layer of salted caramel sauce is baked into the middle of my favorite cookie bar to create a completely irresistible and super indulgent dessert. I modified Michelle’s version in two ways: first, I decreased the amount of chocolate in the bars because I like a high ratio of dough to chocolate in my cookies. Second, she melted down caramel candies for the sauce in the middle, but since I didn’t have any on hand, I made a batch of my favorite salted caramel sauce from scratch. The bars are pretty gooey on day 1 and I loved them like that, but if gooey isn’t your thing they do firm up on day 2. Assuming they last that long, of course π
Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
concept from Two Peas and their Pod (via Brown Eyed Baker), cookie bars adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, salted caramel sauce from Baked Explorations
(Note: This recipe makes more caramel sauce than you’ll need for the bars – you’ll have more than enough to make a batch of these brownies afterward!)
Salted Caramel Sauce
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
1/4 cup sour cream
Cookie Bars
2 1/8 cups (10 1/2 oz) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup (7 oz) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
6 tablespoons salted caramel sauce
fleur de sel, for sprinkling
To make the caramel: Add the sugar, corn syrup and water to a medium saucepan and stir gently to combine. Set the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the mixture registers 350 F on a candy thermometer (if you don’t have a thermometer cook until the mixture is amber in color). Turn off the heat under the pan and slowly add the cream (the caramel will bubble up quite a bit so be mindful) then the fleur de sel. Stir in the sour cream until the mixture is smooth. Let cool while you work on the brownies.
To make the cookie bars: Preheat oven to 325 F with a rack in the lower third. Line an 8×8-inch baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on opposite sides to allow you to lift the bars out after baking. Spray the aluminum foil with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together. In a second bowl, combine the butter and both sugars, whisking until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla and whisk to completely incorporate. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and use a rubber spatula to fold the dry into the wet just until combined. (The batter will be quite thick.) Use the rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate chips.
Transfer half of the batter to the prepared pan, pressing it into an even layer in the bottom. Pour the caramel sauce over the cookie dough, leaving just a little space around the edges. Use a small cookie scoop to dollop the remaining cookie dough over the salted caramel. Press down gently with your fingertips to distribute. It’s fine if the caramel layer isn’t completely covered – it will spread to cover as it bakes. Sprinkle the top with fleur de sel. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the bars are golden brown and slightly firm to the touch. The bars will begin to pull away from the sides of the pan when they’re done.
Remove the pan to a wire rack. Let the bars cool completely before lifting them out of the pan and cutting into squares to serve.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously, that’s all I can even manage for this.
Whoever came up with the salt caramel combo is a genius. I tried salted caramel ice cream the other day and it was honestly the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted!And the Elf diet sounds like a pretty darn good one to me!
These bars look dangerous, I could easily eat the entire batch! π
I’m not much of a sweet tooth, but I like my sugar! These bars would please me, espacially with salted caramel!
they look great! I love caramel sauce AND cookie bars. I like that you actually decreased the amt of choc chips b/c yes when the caramel is that good and plentiful, I’d rather focus on it, than on chocolate. Crazy but true π
I’m not a huge caramel fan but I love chocolate & bars so I will definitely need to try these! Ps. Elf is one of my fav movies and I too have a major sweet tooth i.e. nutella on a spoon!
oh my gosh those look so so so amazing! thanks for sharing!
Wow, these look amazing!!
I love these Tracey. And yes – I have those same “Elf” sentiments. My sweet tooth is out of control most days. These bars are definitely my kind of dessert!
My step mom will make comments about some dessert being too sweet and rich that she can only have a little bite. While I sit there and devour as much as I can fit in my mouth. I think these bars would fall into that category.
These need to make an appearance for my afternoon snack! π
Oh man, not only do I want these cookie bars, but I want to watch Elf! It is one of my favorite movies! I’m in a real baking mood right now, so knowing about this recipe could be a very bad (or good π ) thing.
These look so mouthwatering, Tracey! I bet they would be out of this world dunked into a cup of coffee or milk! Wonderful recipe.
Oh my dear goodness, I’m in looove! Yum!
These look sooo good!
elf is my favorite movie of all time!!! ahh, i can quote it so many times and i completely wish i could live on their diet π i’ve seen this bar floating around the interwebs and i’ve bookmarked it but haven’t had time to make it..yours looks so good & i definitely want to give that caramel sauce a go!
I’m a big sweets person too. Never put sugar on tomatoes but I grew up putting it on grits which grossed everyone else out. π
I’ve had these bookmarked for awhile too.. I need to remember to pick up chocolate chips or chunks soon.
I love any and everything with salted caramel! It’s amazing how a little salt can make such a big difference…these look sooo good!
I definitely identify with you and Buddy the Elf! π These look fabulous!!
These need to be in front of me right now please. They look amazing!
Yes please. I don’t know why I’m looking at food blogs at 11:30 pm while in bed and stomach slightly growling. I could so go for one of these. Now.
These look delicious, I love the addition of salt to sweet recipes too!
YUM. Cookie bars are a new obsession of mine ever since I made the plain old chocolate chip for Father’s Day. So chewy and rich and delicious!
I LOVE these bars! I definitely need to make them again soon!
Wow, whoa, heaven, yes, please!!!
xo
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These look so yummy. I’ll have to make them soon. Thanks for your post.
They not only looked good but the taste…oh my goodness! These have to be about the best brownie dessert I’ve ever had! Such peanut buttery, chewy, chocolate goodness that just melted in your mouth. I’m glad Rick was able to get one home to me. Thanks Tracey! They were the BEST!
Oh yeah! My office thanks Shane for forgetting to grab them this morning so we could score! These were just awesome. Hard to describe, but it’s the second time that salt on chocolate has made a huge hit. Good thing I put one aside for Becky before I put these out, because they disappeared very quickly. Thanks for sharing!
Wow. I’m going to have to try these! When I saw them on Michelle’s blog, I wondered how they would work with homemade caramel. I’m glad to see that it works really well. Yum. =)
These look amazing… In fact, I’m slightly frightened to give them a try because I’m positive I will eat WAY too many of them.
these look really good!
nice share π
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Oh yum! These look so so good. I can totally relate to the sweet tooth btw π
Oh, man!! WANT!!
Gosh these look sublime! I’m definitely going to make these π yum!
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This looks incredibly tasty!!! Stunning recipe!
Making these tonight for a bake sale tommorrow, I’m sure they’ll be a huge hit!
These look delicious. Do you know if you can freeze them?
@Anon – I’m not 100% sure (haven’t tried), but I suspect they’d do ok in the freezer since most bar cookies do. I’d just be sure to wrap them well. Let me know how it goes if you try!
Do you know if you can double the batch and bake it in a 9×13 pan? I need to do some baking for a bridal shower and was wondering if I could speed it up a little π
New to baking and trying new things— what is fleur de sel??????????
Can you buy it at local supermarkets?? and is is necessary to make this?
@Sabrina – It’s just sea salt and is available at most grocery stores. You don’t necessarily need fleur de sel to make them, but you do want to use something other than plain table salt. Kosher salt would work in a pinch – hope that helps π
I’ll be using up my left over caramel sauce to make these today. I really appreciate the links you provide in your postings. Now I have an excuse for making a giant batch of caramel sauce. Thanks
They look absolutely delicious. What is Fleur de Sel please not sure about that. Please advise.
Madelaine South Africa shalom@wbs.co.za
Sooo this recipe is straight up fantastic! I made them last night (and added all of the carmel sauce) for a work bake-off today, and I won 1st place!! Which also happened to included a $100 gift card to Lu Lu Lemon!!! So thank you very much for the recipe!!
Hmmm.. I totally should do your salted caramel sauce, HOWEVER, I have a jar of TJ’s salted caramel sauce right here staring at me. Do you think I should go the extra steps or use TJ’s?? Also, if not, about how much sauce is poured (1/4 cup?) Lastly, do you think this can be doubled? Sorry for all of the questions… I want to make this for a party this weekend! Thank you SO very much!!!