Chocolate Chip, Oats and Caramel Cookie Squares

Chocolate and caramel . . . such an awesome combination!

This recipe will satisfy any sweet tooth cravings for sure.

Perfect dessert to take to a party.

Ingredients

1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated chocolate chip cookies

1 cup quick-cooking oats

Dash salt, if desired

2/3 cup caramel ice cream topping

5 tablespoons Pillsbury BEST® all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup Fisher® Chef's Naturals® Chopped Walnuts

1 cup Hershey's® semi-sweet baking chips (6 oz)

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. 

In large bowl, break up cookie dough. 

Stir or knead in oats and salt. 

Reserve 1/2 cup dough for topping. 

In ungreased 9-inch square pan, press remaining dough mixture evenly in bottom to form crust.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until dough puffs and appears dry.

In small bowl, mix caramel topping, flour and vanilla until well blended. Sprinkle walnuts and baking chips evenly over crust. Drizzle evenly with caramel mixture. Crumble reserved 1/2 cup dough mixture over caramel.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until golden brown. 

Cool 10 minutes. 

Run knife around sides of pan to loosen bars. Cool completely, about 1 hour, 30 minutes. 

For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store tightly covered.

Recipe and Photo Source:  Pillsbury.com 

from

Bake-Off® Contest 37, 1996

Niela Frantellizzi

Boca Raton, Florida

I shared this recipe at these linky parties:

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars - UPDATE

It doesn't get any easier than this!

Our review:

We made these cheesecake bars for a party we went to and it was a definite hit! Although the coconut is optional, it was brought up over and over again that they really liked the addition of it, unlike other cheesecake bar recipes.

After buying everything we needed to make them, we decided to double the recipe.  While we didn't have time to go out and buy another roll of refrigerated cookie mix, we had the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies.  It was the perfect solution and I suggest it is an excellent substitute if you prefer to use your favorite recipe for cookies.  Honestly, I think any cookie would be delicious . . . sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies . . . whatever you love or a combination of two different cookies.

The next time we make a double batch, it will be made in two separate pans rather than one larger pan since the middle did not cook quite enough and didn't fully harden as it chilled.  We left that part home and it was delicious the next day after it had a while to harden.  I just don't recommend doing that.

The cheesecake mixture was perfect and delicious . . . nice creaminess that was so enhanced by the coconut.

All in all . . . we loved it!

Ingredients

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup coconut, if desired

1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated chocolate chip cookies

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and egg until smooth. Stir in coconut.

In ungreased, 9- or 8-inch square pan, break up half of cookie dough. With floured fingers, press dough evenly in bottom of pan to form crust. Spread cream cheese mixture over dough. Crumble and sprinkle remaining half of dough over cream cheese mixture.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until chilled. 

For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. 

Store in refrigerator.

Photo and recipe source:

Caramel Cream Sandwich Cookies

Cookies:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg yolk
2 cups flour

Frosting:
2 tbsp butter (do not use margarine)
1 1/4 cups powdered sygar
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 to 5 tsp milk

In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar and 1 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium speed. Scrape the bowl occasionally until light and fluffy.

Beat in the egg yolk.

On low speed, beat in the flour until well blended.

If necessary, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes for easier handling.

Heat the oven to 325 F.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With a fork dipped in flour, flatten each ball to 1 1/2 inches round.

Bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool for 1 minute. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a 2-quart saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, until light golden brown. Remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining frosting ingredients. Add enough milk until smooth and spreadable. Spread 1 teaspoon of frosting between the bottoms of pairs of cooled cookies.

Makes 30 sandwich cookies



Recipe Source: Pillsbury Bake-Off - Helen Beckman

World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is said to have come from a famous cookie maker


3/4 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, combine the white and brown sugars.

Add butter and cream together with the sugar.

Add vanilla and eggs, mixing well.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and salt together.

Add dry mixture to the creamed mixture.

Mix well; the dough will be stiff.

Add the chocolate chips. Add nuts, if desired.

Line cookie sheets with baking parchment or wax paper.

Using a small ice cream scoop, drop dough onto the cookie sheets.

Bake 10-12 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.

Yield: 2-3 dozen



Variations on World's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Start with the basic World's Best Chocolate Chip recipe above, and
making substitutions or additions as called for. All variations
should be baked in a preheated 350F oven for 10-12 minutes, unless
otherwise stated.

Creme de Menthe Chocolate Chip Cookies
Substitute 2 tablespoons Creme de Menthe liqueur for 1 tablespoon
vanilla, and substitute 3 cups mint chocolate chips for the 3 cups
semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Butterscotch Beauties
Substitute 3 cups butterscotch chips for 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Chunky Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Substitute 3 cups peanut butter chips and 1 cup chopped peanuts for 3
cups semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Kiss Your Cookies
Prepare dough as directed for basic recipe. Form a ball of chocolate
chip dough around a Hershey's Chocolate Kiss. Roll dough in your hand
to form a ball and bake on cookie sheet for 9-11 minutes at 350.

Amaretto Almond
Substitute 1/2 tablespoon almond extract and 2 tablespoons Amaretto
for the 1 tablespoon vanilla. Add 1 cup sliced almonds plus chocolate
chips to cookie dough. (If you do not want to use liqueur, substitute
1 tablespoon almond extract for the 1 tablespoon vanilla.)

Kahlua Chocolate Chip
Substitute 3 cups milk chocolate chips for the semi-sweet chocolate
chips and substitute 3 tablespoons Kahlua liqueur for 1 tablespoon
vanilla.

Caramel Kings with Nuts
Reduce flour to 2-1/2 cups. Substitute 20 Kraft caramel candy pieces
for the 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips. Chop each caramel into 8
small pieces. Mix chopped caramels with 1 cup chopped nuts and stir
into prepared cookie dough.

Triple Chocolate Delight
Substitute 1 cup milk chocolate chips, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate
chips and 1 cup white chocolate chips for the 3 cups of semi-sweet
chocolate chips.

Raisinette Dreams
Substitute 2 cups Raisinettes for 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Substitute 1-1/2 cups Reese's Peanut Butter Chips and 1-1/2 cups
semi-sweet chocolate chips for 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips. Add
1 cup chopped peanuts, if desired.

Heath Bar Cookies
Substitute 6 Heath Bars (original or soft and chewy style) for 3 cups
semi-sweet chocolate chips. (Heath Bars come 2 small bars per pack.
Use 3 packs, or 6 small bars.) Cut each bar into 12 pieces before
adding to prepared cookie dough.

Chewy Gooeys
Substitute 10 Kraft caramels and 2 cups large semi-sweet chocolate
chips for the 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips. Cut each caramel
into 4 thin slices before adding to prepared cookie dough.


SOURCE:
Cookies! The Collector's Series/Volume 26
The American Cooking Guild