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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Peanut Butter Cookies

This past weekend, I needed to bake something for a bake sale at church. My husband suggested that I make some peanut butter cookies. I have to be honest, peanut butter cookies have never been my favorite. I'm not really sure why, since peanut butter cups are one of my favorite snacks and I also really like peanut butter and peanuts, but peanut butter cookies just never seemed to do it for me. Regardless, it sounded like a good idea, because I know that they are really popular with lots of people.

Although they are still not my favorite cookie, I think these turned out really good. My husband liked the ones with chopped nuts. I especially liked the ones dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with chopped nuts. They not only tasted great, but they looked incredible too. Which one will be your favorite?

What You Will Need:
KitchenAid Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Medium Scoop
Cookie Sheets lined with Silicone Mats or Parchment Paper
Fork
Cooling Racks

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1 Egg (I use Extra Large)
1/2 cup Soy Flour
1/4 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/4 cup Potato Starch
1/4 cup Corn Starch
1 teaspoon Xanthum Gum
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Directions:
In KitchenAid Mixer bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy.

Mix in the peanut butter and egg.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the soy flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, corn starch, xanthum gum, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl. Mix until dough comes together.

OPTIONAL: Add 1/2 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts, and mix until combined.

Using the medium scoop, scoop the dough into a plastic container. Place waxed paper between layers, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Place dough balls on lined cookie sheets approximately 2" apart. Using a fork, flatten the dough balls in a criss-cross pattern.

Bake for approximately 16 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool on cookie sheet for two minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.

Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies. (I made two batches.)

"Sometimes the most ordinary things can be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people."
If you haven't experienced this, you are definitely not spending your time with the right people.

~Sheryl