Dark Chocolate, Sea Salt Caramel Peanut Butter Cookies for #theleftoversclub

If you like dark chocolate, ooey gooey caramel, peanut butter and a sprinkling of sea salt (and honestly who doesn't?) then you will love these cookies!

 

 

The theme for this month's Leftovers Club exchange was salt. My intentions were to come up with a unique recipe using salt, but time got the best of me, as it often does, and I defaulted to everyone's favorite salted ingredient...salted caramel. I guess you can never go wrong with salted caramel right?

Well, I took this step even farther. Instead of making my own salted caramel (which I highly recommend), I cheated and used Rolo candies cut in half with a sprinkling of sea salt. Voila! Instant "cheaters" salted caramel!

 

For this recipe, I used my Whoopie Pie pan which I received as a gift a few years ago! I really like baking cookies in this pan. They turn out large and thick without spreading out too much and each one is the same size!

 

 

 

 

This month I was paired with Alli from Tornadough Alli! Don't you just love her blog name? Alli is one of 3 new members to The Leftovers Club and I for one know we're really excited to have her in our group!

 

 Alli sent me these delicious Sweet & Salty Ruffle Treats. They were so good!! Thanks Alli!

 

 

 

With this being Alli's first swap with the group, I knew I had to make a good impression. Not only did I send my package out to her early (normally I'm very last minute), but I also included these artisan salts handmade in Vista, CA where I live! I know Alli will come up with a creative use for them!

 

 

 

If you're interested in swapping delicious treats each month with a fun group of fellow bloggers, sign up to join over at Alwayz Bakin! You'll really enjoy it!!

 

Now onto the recipe...

 

 

 

Dark Chocolate, Seat Salt Caramel Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes 16 large cookies

 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar (I used golden)

1 large egg, room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup extra dark chocolate chips (I used Guittard)

20 rolo candies cut in half or thirds

Sea Salt & Extra dark chocolate chips for sprinkling on top

 

Directions:

 

Preheat oven to 350f



Place the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugars together at medium speed until light and fluffy (approx. 3 minutes) scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

Add the egg, vanilla and peanut butter and mix at med-low speed until combined. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Fold in the dark chocolate chips.

Scoop about a tablespoon and a half of dough into each cup of your whoopee pie pan then smooth the dough out to the edges. The cup should be about 3/4 full but not all the way to the top.

Place a few cut up pieces of Rolos on top of each cookie. I like to alternate them with the cut side face up and face down. Then sprinkle a few dark chocolate chips on top. Sprinkle a little sea salt on top of each cookie making sure you put some on top of the caramel.

Bake at 350f for approx. 10 minutes. The edges should look set but the middles may still be soft. Do not over bake.

Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack to cool. Allow cookies to cool and set in pan for about 15 minutes then carefully remove by running a knife carefully around the edges and then lifting them out of the pan. Place on a wire cooling rack after removing.

Enjoy!

Store leftovers tightly covered at room temp for up to 2 days.

An InLinkz Link-up

Brown Butter & Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Fleur de Sel for #TheLeftoversClub

For this month's Leftovers Club, I was paired with Michele! Michele has a great blog called Always Bakin (love the name!) and has recently taken over the reigns as fearless leader/organizer extraordinaire of The Leftovers Club!  Our previous fearless leader, Elizabeth from Food Ramblings, just had an adorable baby boy just a few days ago! Congratulations, Elizabeth!! Thank you so much for all you have done for the club.

 

This month, I had a really tough time deciding which recipe I wanted to share. I actually sent Michele 2 different options because I was so indecisive... these Brown Butter & Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars and a loaf of Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffee Cake. Well, Michele was absolutely no help at all because she loved them both! Haha....

 

 

 

I decided to share the recipe for the bars because well...brown butter+nutella+chocolate+fleur de sel = duh! Need I say more? I will definitely post the recipe for the Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffee Cake later, but for now here's a preview pic...

 

 

 

I really enjoy being a part of The Leftovers Club. Swapping baked goods with fellow bloggers is a lot of fun! If you'd like to sign up to be a part of the club, I highly recommend it. Check out all of the details here....http://alwayzbakin.com/the-leftovers-club/

 

 



Brown Butter & Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars w/Fleur de Sel

Makes 1 9"x13 pan, approx. 18 bars

 

Note: This recipe requires chilling so plan ahead

 

Ingredients:

2 sticks of unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon size pieces

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temp

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon sour cream

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup nutella

Fleur de Sel for sprinkling

 

Directions:

 

Make the brown butter

 

Place the butter in a sauce pan, and melt over medium-low heat, swirling occasionally. Continue with this process...the butter will foam up and have lots of bubbles, then the foaming will gradually subside, the butter mixture will become translucent and brown bits will form at the bottom of the pan. The butter will also become fragrant and smell nutty/caramel-y. Once the brown bits have formed, remove the butter from the heat and pour into a glass bowl. Cool the brown butter completely. approx 1-2 hours. I like to wait until mine has somewhat solidified.

 

Once the brown butter has cooled completely, scoop/pour it into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Make sure you get all of the brown bits, that's the flavor!

 

Add both sugars to the bowl and mix on low speed until well combined (approx 30 seconds). Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.

 

Add the eggs, vanilla extract and sour cream. Mix on low speed until combined. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.

 

Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

 

Refrigerate the dough for 3 hours or overnight.

 

Line a 9x13" pan with nonstick foil or spray regular foil with nonstick cooking spray.

 

Place 2/3 of the dough in the pan and press into an even layer. Tip: Since the dough is somewhat stiff when it comes out of the fridge, I found it was easier to place small chunks of the dough all over the bottom of the baking pan (they should be close together) and then press them together in an even layer. If you put one huge chunk of dough into the pan and try to press it out into an even layer that way, it's a lot harder to do.

 

Heat the nutella in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen it up, then scoop/pour it into 3 rows across the length of the pan. Tip: Imagine cutting the bars into 3 rows along the length (the 13" side) of the pan. You want to place your 3 rows of nutella in the center of those 3 rows so that the streak of nutella is in the center of each bar when you cut it.

 

Crumble the remaining cookie dough randomly over the top. Tip: Don't cover up the stripes of nutella too much, you want those to be peaking out a bit when they're done baking so you see little puddles of nutella.

 

Bake at 350 for approx 15-20 minutes. Do not overbake! The dough should look lightly golden brown but should still be somewhat what (not completely set or dry). Tip: If you overbake, the cookie bars will be dry but don't worry, there's a fix for this! Just microwave the bars a few seconds before you eat one to warm it up and make it gooey.

 

Remove from the oven and place on a wire baking rack to cool for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, sprinkle a touch of Fleur de Sel over the top (try to get some of it on the puddles of nutella peaking out of the dough).

 

 

Allow to cool completely, then remove from the pan using the foil as your handle. Cut into bars & serve!

 

Leftovers can be stored in an air tight container at room temp for up to 2 days or send some to your Leftovers Club Partner like I did! : )

 

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Chubby Hubby Bars

Aside from the catchy name, these bars are insanely delicious. If you love the combination of sweet & salty, this recipe is for you. Imagine a basic blondie with chocolate chips and chopped pretzels, topped with a homemade peanut butter caramel slathered with a rich dark chocolate ganache then garnished with mini pretzels. If that isn't cookie bar heaven, then I don't know what is!

 

 

I made these bars for Elizabeth from Food Ramblings for this month's Leftovers Club exchange. Although they require a little extra work than the standard cookie bar, I wanted to make something extra special for Elizabeth for all of the hard work she puts into hosting the Leftovers Club every month. I hope she enjoyed eating them half as much as I enjoyed making them! 

 

If you're interested in joining the Leftovers Club, I encourage you to sign up at Food Ramblings. It's so much fun to send & receive yummy baked goods in the mail every month!

 

Chubby Hubby Bars
Makes 24 bars
Serves 24 (or one chubby hubby)

** Make Peanut Butter Caramel a day ahead to save time
** This recipe requires chilling to allow each layer to set so plan ahead

Ingredients:

Peanut Butter Caramel
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
1 tablespoon corn syrup
pinch of salt

Bar Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup malted milk powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups light brown or golden brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips (I used Ghiradelli Bittersweet  Chips)
1 1/2 cups min pretzels coarsely chopped

Ganache Ingredients:
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli Bittersweet Chips)

Make the Peanut Butter Caramel:

Place the granulated sugar and water in a medium size heavy bottom saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat without stirring. Continue to boil over medium heat until the mixture turns a light amber color. Be sure to watch carefully to prevent burning. Carefully whisk in the heavy cream and cook for another 30 seconds to one minute or until the mixture turns the color of peanut butter.

Remove from heat and whisk in peanut butter, corn syrup, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Make the bars:

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9"x13" pan with non-stick foil (or spray regular foil with non-stick cooking spray).

Combine flour, baking powder, malted milk powder and salt in a medium size bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla at low speed until combined. Scrape down bottoms and sides of bowl. 

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips and chopped pretzels.

Bake at 350f  for approximately 30 minutes or until edges are set. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

When bars have cooled, spread the peanut butter caramel into an even layer over the top of the bars. Refrigerate until the caramel has set (approx. 1 hour). Tip: If the caramel has been refrigerated, place it in the microwave and heat in 30 second intervals (stirring between intervals) until spreadable.

When the caramel has set, make the chocolate ganache -

Place the chocolate chips in small bowl. Microwave the heavy cream until hot and steamy, approx. 1 minute. Pour over the chocolate chips and allow to sit for approx. 3 minutes. Stir until melted then spread over the peanut butter caramel.

Garnish with mini pretzels then allow the chocolate to set. Once chocolate has set, cut into bars and serve.

Store leftovers tightly covered in an air tight container for up to 3 days.

Recipe adapted from The Kitchen Prep Blog

An InLinkz Link-up

Toffee Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Toffee Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

It’s all about cookies today!!  Have you ever had one of those days when you are just craving a cookie!  Well that was me on Wednesday!  I wanted a cookie, but wasn’t in the mood for just a plain chocolate chip cookie, so I hit the pantry again to see what I had… What do I find but a nice bag of Toffee Bits.  If you have never used Toffee Bits in your baked goods, grab a bag!  They are wonderful.  Usually they are more readily available during the holidays.  Faye posted a recipe using them last year called “Insanely Good Salted Toffee Chocolate Bars”. That recipe is addicting! You must try it along with the “TOFFEE CHOCOLATE CHIP WALNUT COOKIES” J!   So I decided to make a cookie using the Toffee Bits, Chocolate Chips and Walnuts. I love nuts in cookies. Funny, that is one ingredient that people vary on… nuts or no nuts in cookies.  I’m a nut person, but I bet they are just as wonderful without them. Back to the cookies, these cookies are soft, sweet , delicious and super easy to make!!.  The Toffee Bits give the cookie a wonderful sweet and salty flavor.  Since they melt a bit, they keep the cookies nice and soft even till the next day.  Definitely satisfied my cookie craving!  I hope you give them a try.

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

½ teaspoon Salt

½ cup Unsalted Butter (softened)

¾ cup Granulated Sugar

¾ cup Light Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 eggs (room temp)

1 cup Toffee Bits (Heath sell a bag that is usually by the chocolate chips.  You find it during the holidays)

½ cup Chocolate Chips

½ chopped Walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350  (makes about 30 cookies)

1.       Add a piece of parchment paper to your cookie sheet. (Trust me, it worth the extra buy on the parchment paper so the cookies do not stick to your cookie sheet due to the sugar in the toffee.

2.       In a medium size bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.  Using a whisk, mix and set aside.

3.       In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter and both sugars.  Beat till combined and creamy. Add the vanilla and eggs. Beat till combined, but do not over beat.

4.       Gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, beat until all flour has been incorporated.

5.       Mix in the Toffee Bits, chocolate chips and walnuts in a bowl.  

6.       Add the toffee mixture to cookie dough, stir in with a spoon till all mixed in.

7.       Using an ice cream scoop, make cookie dough ball and put on to cookie sheet with parchment paper.

8.       Bake for about 10-11 minutes.

9.       Cool on cookie sheet for about 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

 

10.   ENJOY!!!

Valentine's Day Cookie Exchange

Valentine's Day, a day dedicted to expressing your love to that special someone in your life. This year forget the Hallmark card and Sees candy, throw out those roses, nothing says "I love you" more than a homemade treat thoughtfully and lovingly baked by you...

Today LiveBakeLove hosted our very first annual Valentine Day Cookie Exchange and we're really excited to share these delicious recipes with you! Joining the festivities were our good friends, Teresa (French Macaron and Creme Brule queen) who you may recognize from this post, and Louise from http://laidoffmom.com/, one of our favorite new blogs.

We made a great assortment of treats sure to please that special someone in your life, from cupcakes and brownies to cookies and pie pops. And of course we added our special ingredient...love!

Note: OK, I really wasn't serious about throwing out the card, candy and roses but a homemade treat would definitely earn you extra "brownie points" (pun intended).

Stout Cupcakes with Double Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes:
2 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup thick plain whole milk yogurt at room temperature
6 oz Dark Stout (Guinness) at room temperature
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 light brown sugar, lightly packed
6 Tablespoons butter soften
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
4 Tablespoons butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter.  Add granulated sugar and brown sugar until combined. Add the eggs and and yogurt and mix.  Pour in beer and vanilla and mix to combine.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the beer mixture.  Mix slowly untill well combined.  Repeat the process 2 more times until the are well combined.

Divide the batter evenly between the 12 baking cups. Bake at 350 for approximately 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on cooling racks.

To make the frosting:

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer using the whisk attachment, blend together the butter, cream cheese, vanilla and vanilla bean paste. Gradually add powdered sugar mixing well until incorporated. Adjust consistency by adding more powdered sugar if needed.

Place frosting in a piping bag fitted with the decorating tip of your choice. Frost and decorate as desired.

Tip: Top each cupcake with a small frosted heart shaped sugar cookie using your favorite sugar cookie & frosting recipe. If you'd like the recipe we used, please feel free to e-mail us.

Source: Adapted from Dave Lieberman

Berry Pie Pops
Makes about 20-24 Pie Pops (depending upon the size of your cookie cutter)

Ingredients
2 boxes refrigerated pie crusts
Egg wash (1 egg beaten)
Sugar in the Raw or other sugar for sprinkling

Filling:
1  1/2 cups of berries (I used a combination of raspberries and coarsely chopped strawberries)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

20-24 lollipop sticks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Line 4 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Make the filling - in a small saucepan, combine the berries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until thickened stirring occassionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Bring crusts to room temperature following the directions on the package.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each pie crust. Using a 2-2 1/2" heart shaped cookie cutter, cut each crust into hearts. Place half of the hearts on parchment or Silpat lined baking sheets (about 6 per baking sheet).

Place about 1 Tablespoon of the filling in the center of each heart. Take a lollipop stick and place it in the center of the filling almost to the top of the heart. Take the remaining hearts and stretch them out slightly to fit over the top of the filled hearts. Brush the edges with egg wash and place over the top of the filled hearts (egg wash side down). Seal the edges by pressing with your fingers then use a fork to crimp the edges.

Brush tops lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with raw sugar or colored sugar.

Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool before removing from baking sheets.

Store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Source: Adapted from Kelsey's Essentials

I "Heart You" Brownies

To make the heart shaped brownies pictured to the left, make the 'Most Amazing Brownie Recipe" posted here. When brownies are completely cooled, cut into hearts using a 2" heart shaped cookie cutter. Dip tops in chocolate ganache and sprinke to decorate.



Ganache:
1/4 c heavy whipping cream
3/4 c semi sweet or dark chocolate chips or chunks

Place chocolate and cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute and stir until completely melted. If chocolate is not completely melted after stirring, return to microwave for an additional 20-30 seconds.

Brownies can be stored at room temperature in an air tight container for 2 days.

Stained Glass Heart Cookies

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter softened
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
6-8 oz of your favorite hard candy

Directions:

1. Crush candy (we used a ziploc bag and a meat tenderizer)

2. Make cookie dough -

In a small bowl, whisk the flour and salt together

In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.

Add the flour mixture and beat  at low speed until combined. Form the dough into 3 equal disks. Wrap each disk with plastic wrap and chill until firm (approx 1-2 hours).

Working with one disk at a time, roll out each disk to about 1/8" thick on a lightly floured surface. Using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out hearts. Use a smaller heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out the center of each heart.

Place hearts on parchment or silpat lined baking sheets. Fill the center of each heart with crushed candy.

Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before removing.

Store at room temperature in an air tight container for up to 3 days.

The Infamous "Neiman Marcus" Cookies
Source: Lovefromtheoven
Makes approx 5 dozen cookies


Ingredients

2 cups unsalted butter softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups light brown sugar, lightly packed
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups all purpose flour
5 cups oats, blended (see directions below)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp salt
24 ounces good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips (we used Guittard)
1 8oz Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar, grated

3 cups chopped nuts (we used almonds)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375

Measure oatmeal into a food processor or blender and process to a fine powder. Careful not to overblend. Place in a large bowl and add flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer using a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until completely combined.

Beat in eggs and vanilla.

Add flour/oatmeal mixture and blend just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Roll into balls or use a 1 1/2" cookie scoop. Place approx 2" apart on an ungreased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 or until lightly browned.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheets. Remove and place on cooling racks to cool completely.

Store at room temperature in an air tight container for up to 2 days.


Behind the scenes photos....

Filling the pie pops

Adding candy to the stained glass cookies

Cookie Dough

Muffins in the oven

The anticipation builds ......

Yumm...brownies

The decorating master at work

More pie pops.....

Pie pop ooozing.....

Oohh pretty.....

Baking makes you silly....

Don't you just love Valentine's Day? <3