Head Over Heels Cookie Bars

I came home from work the other day and there wasn't a gluten free baked good to be had in the house! Can you believe it? With all of the baking I do, there wasn't a single thing to sink my teeth into after a long, hard, depressing day at work. And to top it off, it was Wednesday, which meant I had to take my son to youth group at church and my daughter to gymnastics. 

I knew I didn't have a lot of time, but I was determined to make something. I figured some kind of cookie bar would be the best. That way I wouldn't have to scoop a bunch of dough balls, wait for them to chill, blah blah blah. (Don't take that the wrong way, I LOVE to make cookies, just not when I am pressed for time.) Cupcakes were also out. You have to wait for them to cool, before you can frost them!

Cookie bar it would be, but what kind of cookie bar? I wanted to make something new so I could share it with you here on the blog. I had some leftover peanuts from the peanut butter cookies, so I wanted to use those. I thought it would be cool to have something with layers. Chocolate and caramel always come to mind. Then I started to think about snickers candy bars, and I thought, why not layer caramel, peanuts and chocolate on top of a chocolate chip cookie? Wabamo! Head Over Heels Cookie Bars were born. Are you dying to try them? Here's the recipe . . .

What You Will Need:
Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
9 x 13 Pan
Non-Stick Cooking Spray
Small Saucepan

Ingredients:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (Posted on July 9, 2013) - I made these with 
1 cup of Mini Chocolate Chips
3/4 cup Kraft Caramel Bits
3 Tablespoons Milk
1 cup Dry Roasted Peanuts
1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Spray 9 x 13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Dump cookie dough into sprayed pan, and spread evenly.

Bake for 30 minutes.

In a small saucepan over low heat, mix caramel bits and milk. Cook until melted stirring constantly. Let cool.

Pour and spread melted, cooled caramel over baked and cooled cookie dough.

Sprinkle peanuts evenly over caramel.

In a small microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips and canola oil in the microwave. Microwave on high for 1 minute, stir, then continue in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until completely melted.

Pour melted chocolate over peanuts.

Let sit until chocolate is set completely. Cut into 2 inch squares and serve.

These turned out even better than I imagined they would. As a result, I thought they deserved an extra special name. Head over heels seemed appropriate.

"Attract what you expect, reflect what you desire, become what you respect, mirror what you admire."
Think about that one for a while. It says A LOT!

~Sheryl

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Red, White & Blue Cookies

I can't believe it is already July. It seems like it was just Memorial Day, and I was writing about how excited I was that summer was here. Now summer is well under way, and we are about to celebrate Independence Day, the Fourth of July. 

We'll be celebrating our freedom at the beach with friends and family. I thought it would be nice to have some red, white & blue treats to share for the celebration. My original thought was red, white and blue tie-dyed cupcakes with red, white and blue sprinkles. I still plan to make them, and I promise I will post the recipe on Friday, providing they turn out the way I envision them.

But I was thinking we really need something with chocolate too. After I gave it some thought, I remembered the red, white and blue M&M's. I figured they would be perfect in place of chocolate chips in a cookie. So, I got to work perfecting my cookie recipe. 

I think they turned out great, but don't take my word for it. You can take somebody else's word for a change. My friend, Janet, her teenage daughter, Maya, and Maya's friend, Autumn tried them when we went to the movie together the other day. They loved them so much they were fighting over them. Autumn took half of the last cookie from Maya as she was eating it. She was surprised to learn that they were gluten-free.

Aren't you dying to learn how to make these cookies? OK, I won't make you wait any longer for the recipe.

What You Will Need:
KitchenAid Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Cookie Sheet(s)
Silicone Mat (optional) - I highly recommend using one of these. I love how evenly cookies bake with it.
Teaspoon Sized Cookie Scoop
Cooling Rack(s)

Makes approximately 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
3/4 cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup Sugar
2 Large Eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1 cup Soy Flour
3/4 cup Potato Starch
1/2 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/4 cup Corn Starch
1/4 cup Ground Flax Meal (optional) - (If you choose not to use flax, you can substitute with 1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons Xanthum Gum
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 medium bag of M&M's

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together soy flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, corn starch, flax, xanthum gum, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

This picture was taken before I whisked them
together.

In your KitchenAid Mixer bowl, cream together butter and sugars. 

After I firmly pack my brown sugar, I crumble it
into the bowl to make it easier to mix. This picture
is before they are creamed together.

Add eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition.

I always crack my eggs into a separate bowl
to ensure that I don't get any shells in my baked
goods. I also crack my eggs on a flat surface,
as opposed to the edge of a bowl, to reduce
the likelihood of shells.

This is after the eggs have been added and mixed.

Add vanilla and mix well.

Add dry ingredients and mix well.

Add M&M's and mix well.

Don't be tempted. I know it looks good. Trust me,
I am a lover of raw cookie dough, but this dough
only tastes good as cookies. Yes, I speak from
experience. You can also ask my son.

Chill dough for at least an hour. (I chilled mine overnight.) Preheat oven to 350° F.

Use scoop to drop balls of dough on silicone mat lined cookie sheet or ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes, then let cool on pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Store in an air tight container.

Yum! Don't they look festive? I know you will love them as much as Janet, Maya and Autumn do.

I hope you enjoy celebrating the Fourth of July. Remember to be grateful for the amazing freedom we are privileged to have in this great country. Of course, the greatest freedom we have is our freedom through Jesus. 

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36 (NIV)

Sheryl