Tuesdays With Dorie: Caramel Crunch Bars

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie selection is Caramel Crunch Bars, courtesy of Whitney of What’s left on the table?

A big thank you to Whitney for choosing this recipe - I've been eyeing it for months! The photo of these cookie bars looked so delectable in the cookbook that I couldn't believe no one had chosen it yet. I was beginning to get impatient! In fact, I almost made it last month but ran out of time.

I'm glad I waited, because I was able to buy Heath bits (a main ingredient in this recipe) during my recent trip to the States. If I hadn't made the trip, I would have substituted with Skor bits. I thought Heath bits would be similar to Skor bits, but as you can see below, they're very different. Heath bits are on the left.


They're both labelled as toffee bits, but Heath Bits have almond in them, as well, which makes them taste a lot like peanut brittle. And I like that using them made my bars look more like Dorie's.


These cookies are made of three components: a cookie base, a layer of chocolate, and a generous sprinkling of Heath bits. The cookie base was so delicious - it tasted like toffee shortbread but had the added complexity of cinnamon, instant coffee powder, and chunks of chocolate. However, it also called for two sticks of butter. I shuddered at the thought of using half a pound of butter in this recipe, so instead I halved it and baked the batter in a 8"x8" pan as well as a loaf pan. it works out quite well, although I think my batter was a bit thicker than it was supposed to be.

The chocolate and Heath bits, I think it goes without saying, were very tasty. They made these cookies taste (and look) like a chocolate bar - I think that was the point, and it was very well-executed.


I can't wait to make these again! Visit Whitney of What’s left on the table? for the recipe. I'll be participating in Tuesdays With Dorie again on March 10, when I'll be making Lemon Cup Custard.