Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Bars

Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Bar | Bakewell Junction

Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Bar | Bakewell Junction

Ugh!  I’ve lost another battle to the dandelions.  I was gaining on them this year because the weather was cooler for a while but then a couple of weeks ago we had three days of rain and a warm weekend – it was all over but the crying.  I’m not giving up entirely and will continue on my mission to pull all of them up in the front yard.  Hopefully this will put me in a better position for next year’s dandelion battle.  Wish me luck.

On to more dandilicious happenings…  I was debating whether I should post this recipe because I wanted to tweak it and bring you the revised version with double the cookie dough but time didn’t permit.  While this version is delicious, I am a cookie dough lover and feel that you can never have too much.  These bars a full of buttery goodness and although the cookie dough isn’t as sweet as the chocolate chip cookie dough I’ve had, it’s still quite yummy.  If you’re a fan of shortbread, this bar certainly has what you’re looking for too.  Feel free to leave the recipe as is, if you prefer to have more shortbread than cookie dough.  I will certainly double the cookie dough the next time I make them.  Which version would you prefer?

Have a great Memorial Day!

Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Bar | Bakewell JunctionSnickerdoodle Cookie Dough Bars

Yield:  16 bars                 Cook Time:  30 minutes

Ingredients:

Shortbread:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt (I used Kosher salt)
  • 2 cups flour

Cookie dough:

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon milk or cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Directions:

Step 1:  For the shortbread:  Cream together butter, brown sugar and salt in a large bowl on high speed for 3 minutes.  The mixture should look light and fluffy.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed.  Mix in 1/3 of the flour until combined using a low setting on your mixer.  Repeat for each of the remaining 1/3 additions.

Step 2:  Prepare an 8 inch by 8 inch baking pan by lining with aluminum foil and greasing with cooking spray.  Transfer the dough to the baking and press evenly across the pan.  Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.  The top should be golden brown.  When done, remove the pan from the oven and cool on a rack for 30 minutes.  Place the pan in the refrigerator or freezer to cool completely.

Step 3:  For the cookie dough:  In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter and sugar over medium heat.  Stir constantly until the butter is melted and the sugar has mostly dissolved.  This will help the cookie dough to have a less grainy mouth feel from the sugar.  The mixture will take on a custard-like look – this is okay.  Transfer the mixture to a medium mixing bowl, let cook for 15 minutes and then beat at a high speed for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add in the milk and vanilla and mix to combine.  Mix in the flour at a low speed until combined.  Spread cookie dough evenly on the completely cooled shortbread.  Using the back of a silicone spatula, smooth the top of the cookie dough for an even finish.

Step 4:  For the topping:  Combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly across the top of the bars.  Place in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight to set and cool completely.  Slice into 2 by 2 inch squares.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from love to be in the kitchen.

Tips:  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake always has perfectly cut cookie bars, so I used her Tip of the Day to cut the bars.

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JWsMadeWLuvMondays

Butterfinger Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles #12WksXmasTreats #Chocolate Party

Butterfinger Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles | Bakewell Junction

Butterfinger Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles | Bakewell Junction

It’s time for the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats blog hop again.  It’s hosted by Brenda Thompson from MealPlanningMagic.com.  The blog hop goes live every Wednesday until Christmas.  If you’d like to join us, please fill out the form on Brenda’s blog.

This is the fifth week of Christmas Treats and I’m combining #ChocolateParty and #12WksXmasTreats.  Since the theme for Chocolate Party for October is candy bars, I decided to make these Butterfinger Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles.  This recipe is a variation of the dough I used for my Deep Fried Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  I liked it best when it was frozen.  My hubby wanted baked cookies, so I did bake some at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.  They turned out sort of flat but he thought they were great.

Butterfinger Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Yield:  40 – 45 truffles

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup pasteurized eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cups semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
  • 1 cup crushed Butterfingers (about 8 or 9 fun size candies)
  • 1 cup holiday sprinkles

Directions:

Step 1:  For the dough:  Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.  With an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars for about five minutes.  Add the eggs in two additions; mixing to combine after each addition.  Mix in vanilla and then flour in small batches.  Stir in chocolate chips and crushed Butterfingers.

Step 2:  Chill dough for 1 to several hours to make the dough easier to form.  Form cookie dough balls (about 2 teaspoons), roll in holiday sprinkles, pressing them into the dough so they adhere, and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.  When all dough balls are formed, chill in the freezer at least 1 hour.  Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Recipe adapted from Food Network, courtesy of George Duran.

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats Blog Hop | Hosted by MealPlanningMagic.com

12 Weeks of Christmas Treats Blog Hop

Week 5, October 23, 2013

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Our #ChocolateParty October theme is candy bars and chocolate.  If you’d like to join in, please follow these rules:

1.)  Blog about your chocolate treat.  Your recipe must include the two ingredients we choose.  It can be a simple no bake treat or a sophisticated layer cake; the complexity level of the recipe is totally up to you.
2.)  Include a link back to the Chocolate party page.  Optionally, add the Chocolate Party logo in your blog post or on your sidebar.
3.)  Your recipe must be published during the current month.  Please do not link old recipes, they will be deleted.

I hope you’ll join our party and bake along with us. Also, if you’d like to know what are we up to and what ingredients we pick for the next parties, join our Facebook group. All submitted posts will be pinned to the Chocolate party Pinterest board and will be promoted on other social media platforms using the #chocolateparty hashtag.

Add your link to the Chocolate Candy Party.

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mini Cheesecakes

I missed posting last week ,so here’s the catch-up post…

When I get the chance to combine a sale on cream cheese, chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate, that’s just heaven.  I’d seen the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mini Cheesecakes recipe on My Baking Addiction about a month ago and it was the perfect time to try them.  They turned out fabulously!  My head taste-tester loved them and so did his friends.  They look so elegant and have the taste to match.

The only changes I made to the original cheesecake recipe is that I would only use 1 1/2 – 2 heaping tablespoons of the cheesecake batter for each little cake and I only used about 1/4 of the ganache recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mini Cheesecakes

Yield:  24 cheesecakes                Cook Time:  22 – 25 minutes

Ingredients

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cups brown sugar, packed
  • 3/4 cups sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 6 oz mini chocolate chips

Crust:

  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter
  • 3 tablespoons sugar

Cheesecake Filling:

  • 3 8 oz packages of softened cream cheese
  • 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

Ganache:

  • 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 4 tablespoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

I only used half the Chocolate Chip Cookie dough for the mini cheesecakes, so you might want to halve the ingredients or keep the rest for yummy snacks.  Melt butter in a small sauce pan.  Add milk and stir until incorporated.  At low temperature mix in the sugars and stir to incorporate and heat until most of the sugars have melted.  This will help minimize the gritty feel in the cookie dough.

Remove mixture from heat and cool to room temperature.  Add remaining ingredients and mix until incorporated.  Set aside until ready to insert into mini cheesecakes.

Prepare cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners.

In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the crust with a fork until moistened.  Add 1 tablespoon of the crust mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner and press evenly.  Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 5 minutes.  Cool on a rack.

Reduce oven to 325 degrees.

Using a mixer beat the cream cheese on high until smooth.  Beat in sugar until incorporated.  Mix in salt and vanilla.  Add eggs one a time and mix well after each.  Mix in the heavy cream until just combined.

Divide the cheesecake batter into the cupcake liner using a couple of tablespoons for each mini cheesecake.

Insert about 1 1/2 teaspoons of chocolate chip cookie dough in the center of each cheesecake.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes until the filling is set.  Cool to room temperature on a wire rack; then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 4 hours or overnight.

I only used about a quarter of this ganache recipe for my mini cheesecakes.  For the ganache, heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan using medium heat until very hot (do not boil).

In a heat safe bowl, place the chocolate chips and pour the hot cream on top and let it sit for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate.  Mix the cream and melted chocolate until smooth.  My chocolate didn’t melt enough, so I microwaved it in small increments until the chocolate melted.  Mix the vanilla and honey into the chocolate mixture.

Let ganache cool for 15 minutes before spooning it over the mini cheesecakes.  Chill the cheesecakes until ready to serve.

Enjoy!!!

Recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough recipe adapted from Ehow.
Chocolate Glaze recipe adapted from Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.