These are the ultimate in cookie bars with 4 layers of cookie, each one different and wonderful. The layers are sugar cookie, double chocolate chip, peanut butter and regular chocolate chip and then it's topped off with a drizzle of semisweet chocolate!! (I apologize in advance for the pictures. For some reason, I was having focus issues! :P)
The first layer is the easiest since you use Pillsbury™ Sugar Cookie dough in a tube. So, take the sugar cookie dough out of the fridge for about 5 minutes before you start to layer it in the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking pan (line with foil and spray with cooking spray) in order for it to warm up a bit. Heat is actually going to be a KEY ingredient in this whole layering process. Several times I thought "There's no way this will cover the whole pan!" and then I started using my whole palm to squish out the dough and not just my fingertips. If you let the heat from your hand warm up the dough, it will move much easier.
The sugar cookie layer is the easy part because of the pre-made dough we used. Now preheat the oven to 350°F.
The next layer is DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHIP*!
With stand-up or hand mixer, cream together the butter (softened!) and white & brown sugars until light and fluffy. Slowly add eggs and vanilla until well combined.
In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
Slowly add to wet ingredients (after adding the wet ingredients, I found it was almost impossible to incorporate everything with the spatula. I recommend puttin' your hands in there and working it all together) then stir in chips. It should look a little something like this:
*both the recipe for the double chocolate chip dough and the chocolate chip dough make about 1/3 more than will be needed. So either change the recipe accordingly (there are too many fractions involved for me) or you can bake the extra as regular cookies.
Layer the dough over sugar cookie layer, pressing gently. The white stuff on the chocolate layer is flour. The dough kept sticking to my hands and putting some flour on them helped tremendously.
Onto the PEANUT BUTTER LAYER!
This layer isn't so much a layer of "cookie" as it is well.... peanut butter, sugar and an egg.
So mix all of it together and it should be the consistency of a thick paste. Spread that on top of the double chocolate layer. This will end up being a very thin layer.
Last but not least is the top layer of CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE*!
Basically we do the same thing we did with the double chocolate layer but don't add the cocoa powder.
So, cream the butter and sugars until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl; mix to combine. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips.
Spread out the majority of the cookie dough out on top of the peanut butter layer. This layer doesn't need to be flattened out. You want it to have peaks, etc..
Put the whole thing into the oven for about 45 - 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. This will take a while to bake because of all those crazy layers!
Once the bars are done cooking, let them cool in the pan more or less completely. You should then be able to remove the whole thing from the pan by lifting the foil out, like this:
Cut it up into however many bars you'd like. They can be pretty thick so smaller would probably be best. The edges are not flat and are much crispier than those in the middle, so you might consider "trimming" the edges off, but personally, it doesn't bother me.
You can now melt down the last 1/2 cup of chocolate chips (and a little milk) and drizzle it over the bars. But this is TOTALLY up to you!!
Enjoy!!
______________________________________
The Motherlode Cookie Bars
Preheat to 350°F.
Layer 1: Sugar Cookie
1 Roll of Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough
Press sugar cookie dough into bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish that’s been lined foil and sprayed with cooking spray.
Layer 2: Double Chocolate Chip Cookie*
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 ¾ cups flour
1 ¼ cups Hershey’s™ Chocolate Cocoa Powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups chocolate chips
Using a stand-up or hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Slowly add eggs and vanilla until well combined.
In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients then stir in chips. Layer over sugar cookie layer, pressing gently.
Layer 3: Peanut Butter Cookie
1 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix until combined. Press over chocolate cookie dough.
Layer 4: Chocolate Chip Cookie*
2 sticks softened butter
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 bag chocolate chips
Cream the butter and sugars until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well mixed. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl; mix to combine. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips. Spoon dough evenly over peanut butter cookie dough but don’t press, just leave uneven.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until center of dough is cooked mostly through. Edges will be brown.
Let cookies cool completely. Lift out of pan with edges of foil.
Drizzle top with 1/2 Cup melted chocolate chips if desired.
*The recipe below makes 1/3 more then what you’ll need for the bars, use extra for cookies
No comments:
Post a Comment