Anyone else have a thing for starting anew on Mondays? Diet-Monday. Exercise-Monday. New goal-Monday...Monday, Monday, Monday. So...here I am, on a Monday. It's been a hot minute since I've been on this space, but I've realized throughout the months-whether it's me sharing a piece of my journey with someone who asks for support, or the times I go back searching for a recipe, I've come to realize how valuable this space is for me, and for others. In this realization, I also realized there is no waiting for the perfect time or space, now is the time. My house is not pintrest worthy, and that's ok. I don't have high roller spending ability with things to showcase, that's ok. My organization isn't from The Container Store, and that's ok. I'm not as skinny as I'd like, and that's ok. All I can be, is authentically me. And my authentic self-as a person, as a mother, as a wife, as a homemaker, is worth it.
You know what else is worth it, these Chocolate Chip Caramel Bars from I Am Baker.
I know it's kind of crazy-this is the only picture I took...which doesn't do it justice! I Am Baker has drool worthy pictures though!
I came across her page on Instagram and a few scrolls back, were these delicious cookie bars. I wrote it down on my post-it note #ifyouknowyouknow, and I promptly made them the next week. The one substitute I made, was I used this caramel recipe because I know it works well for non-dairy substitutions.
I'm going to share the recipe in the way that I would bake it when I make this again, so my tips and tricks are included! If you like to bake and deliver goodies for the holidays, definitely put this on your list!
Base:
1 cup butter, room temperature
11/2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs, room temperature
21/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
I used a 9x13 disposable pan, and did not have enough cookie dough to make the base and cover the top, so next time I will double. If I have extra cookie dough, I'll just make regular chocolate chip cookies with it. Using your hands, sprayed with some cooking spray, make a base layer of cookie dough. Bake at 350 until the base is slightly browned (mine was not browned after the suggested 10 minutes)
Here is a key step in the process: do not make your caramel ahead of time. I find it hard to multitask while making caramel, so next time I will start my caramel once the cookie base is out of the oven.
Following this recipe, make your caramel. I've made this many times and it does work to make it non-dairy. What you might need to do is a second or third boil-definitely longer than a minute, and once you see the caramel is thickened, you might have a layer of melted butter substitute on top-just drain it off. The key here is once it's reached the thick but still runny state-you pour it over the cookie base. I missed my window and because it had hardened and my cookie base wasn't so solid, I ended up mixing the two-if this happens, no worries-it all worked out fine and was still delicious!
Once your caramel is poured on top, top with a layer of cookie-just take handfuls of dough, flatten in your hands and place on top. You won't have a perfect layer of cookie dough on top, and that's fine.
Bake for another 15ish minutes, until the caramel bubbles and the top cookie layer is brown.
What was so delicious about these cookies is the distinct bites of caramel. Also, they remained soft! There's nothing like a fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookie as it falls apart in your hands, but this cookie stays soft long after it cools from the oven!
I can't wait to make this again.
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