Double Delicious Cookie Bars

Lucky me.  Saint Paticks Weekend found me in Saint George, Utah watching my son play baseball.  He's great.  His name is Keven.  He's not just great at baseball but he's a great kid.  When we were expecting Keven we weren't sure we were going to get to keep him.  Lucky us... we did!  He is named after my husband's brother.  The reason?  Because I have rarely seen an older brother who loved his younger brother like my brother-in-law loves Tod. (my husband)
You may wonder what all this has to do with baking cookie bars...well there is a connection.  We stayed with Tod's brother and his wife and we had plenty of time to visit while we sat in the stands.  It was fun to share memories and tell stories and catch up on kids and grandkids. ( I get my first one in two weeks!)  One conversation leads to another and before long we are all hungry and wishing for something delicious to eat.  That's when I remembered this recipe which I promised to share with my sister-in-law.  So, here it is...she will appreciate this because it speaks of some pretty rich ingredients and we have shared a few of those over the years.  So here we go:


Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 9 X 13 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Cream:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Add:
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Mix well and
Add:
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups oats (quick cooking or old-fashioned)
Mix together to form cookie dough.  When well mixed
Throw in:
1 cup chocolate chips ( I am a milk chocolate girl trying to refine my senses to enjoy semi-sweet)
You will need an additional 1/2 cup chocolate chips when the bars are removed from the oven.
Spread:
Take about 2/3 of your cookie dough mixture and spread it in the bottom of your prepared pan.  It's a bit sticky to you can use a little flour with a small roller and a piece of wax papaer or parchment or you can just dig in with your fingers.  I like to think of baking as a contact sport so I just got a little non-stick spray on my finger tips and went after it!
This is where it gets fun.

Place:
3 lines of chocolate creme filled cookies (I used Oreo's) in the pan
Drizzle:
1/2 cup or more of caramel over the cookies.  I melted 32 caramels with 1 teaspoon of water in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds on half power and 1 minute on full power; stirring halfway through.  You can use bottled caramel but I can't recommend caramel flavored topping.  Get the good stuff!
Sprinkle
1/2 cup of shredded sweetened coconut over the caramel drizzle
Finish off:
by dropping spoonfuls of the remaining dough on top of the cookies and pressing the dough down lightly.  It doesn't need to cover all over the pan, just most of it as it will spread.

Bake:
at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the top starts to turn golden brown.  Remove from the oven and

Top:
with remaining half cup of chocolate chips.  These will soften.
Drizzle:
more caramel if you feel like it and wait until it is completely cool before slicing.  I'm sure you won't have any lack of imagination on how to serve these or where to hide a few extras for yourself!

Double Delicious Cookie Bars     by Sweet Suppertime

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 cup butter softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups oatmeal (quick or traditional)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup or more of caramel sauce or melted caramels
18 chocolate creme filled cookies

Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.  Cream butter, brown sugar and white sugar until fluffy.
Add vanilla and eggs to incorporate.  Mix in baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Once incorporated add flour and oats scraping sides of the bowl. Add 1 cup of chocolate chips mixing just to coat.
Spread 2/3 of the dough on the bottom of your prepared pan and place 3 lines of creme filled cookies on top of the dough.  Drizzle about 1/2 cup of caramel on the cookies followed by 1/2 cup coconut.
Top with remaining cookie dough, dropping by spoonfuls and then slightly flattening.
Bake 350 for 20-25 mintues, until nicely golden brown.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle remaining chocolate chips (1/2 cup) on top to melt.  Drizzle with additional caramel if desired.
Enjoy and feel lucky!