(Salted) Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Hi, there. Long time no see, eh? Sorry for neglecting the blog for so long. I swear it wasn't on purpose, things just were pre~tty crazy at this side of the world. But before you forget about me, I bring you this sweet treat.  It's pretty darn delicious - not to mention addicting! The original recipe calls for fleur de sel, but I didn't have it on hand so I just ommited it. And it turned out delicious all the same. I added some nuts to give it some crunch. Yum! Next time I'd add more caramel sauce, though 'cause I thought my layer was too thin and I couldn't taste the caramel. These bars are a-ma-zing, I'm salivating just thinking about it. Do me a favor and try it as soon as possible, please! All the changes I've made are in italics.

Hope to see you soon!

~Ana.

Cookie Bars
2 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
170g (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar - used refined sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract - used 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
6 tablespoons salted caramel sauce*
fleur de sel, for sprinkling - didn't use
1/4 cup cashew nuts, chopped

*Caramel sauce

Tracey used a home made caramel sauce but I was lazy and melted 140g of caramel candy with 2 tablespoons heavy cream using the microwave.

To make the cookie bars: Preheat oven to 325 F/160ºC with a rack in the lower third. Line an 8x8-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 and nuts, if using.

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.

From here.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Hey hey hey, let's bake a cake! Again. But cake's always good. ;)

Besides, this banana bread is super good for you. It's made with whole wheat flour (fiber), nuts (antioxidant) bananas (potassium) and coconut (er..hm..fiber?). See? All good stuff. =)

This is the best banana bread I've had so far. Seriously. It is at the top of my banana bread list. Go make some for you! ;)

3 cups whole wheat flour - I used 2 c. whole wheat and 1 c. all-purpose and worked out fine

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

2 cups brown sugar - I used 3/4 c brown sugar and 3/4 caster sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract - I used 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 tablespoon banana extract - I ommited

1 1/2 cups very ripped bananas, mashed (about 3 bananas)

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped - I used Brazil nuts

1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Grease the pan with butter.

2. In a small bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and salt. In another large bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, and sugar. Add the flour mixture to the eggs mixture, mixing with a spoon/spatula.

3. Add vanilla and banana extracts, mashed bananas, coconut, nuts and the buttermilk, mixing until incorporated.

4. Pour into the pan and bake for 60-65 minutes. Let it cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

PS.: I poured half the batter into the pan, arranged some banana slices over it and topped with the rest of the batter.

Recipe taken from here (in Portuguese).