Day 17 – Countdown to Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookie Caramel Bark – 2012

One of my all time favorite Christmas treats is Bark. It’s funny though as for being one sweet that I really love, I only ever make it once a year.  Kind of like pumpkin pies – you only really ever make them at Thanksgiving.  Same with a stuffed turkey – most really only make that for Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas.  Why is that?  I mean if we love it that much, why not make it more often?  Well I know coming from my thighs they are quite thankful that I only make it once a year!  God help me if I made it more than that!  I’d be forever in stretchy pants with bark in hand 😉

Now I’m pretty finicky though when it comes to what’s in bark however it boils down to this… no fruit or chewy stuff.  Bark is bark.. like think tree bark.  Crunchy and well.. barky. Just keep the raisins, craisins, fruits out of mine.  You can have it but not for me… blech

Last night while I was in the kitchen I saw a container of my decadent gourmet chocolate chunk cookies (that turned out not so decadent but rather 6″ round and 1/8th” thick – too much sugar) I felt bad for them.  They were no where near up to my standards visually but taste-wise they were spot on.  I knew I wouldn’t eat them nor would Mr. Fantabulous – he’s apparently now a food snob like me!  LOL  I figured I’d use them in something.  I was going to go the triffle route but I didn’t have the space in my fridge. Dear Santa, I’ve been pretty good this year though please don’t judge me by BooFest 2012, k? I’d like a a dual door fridge and a dual door freezer, please?  Viking if possible too! K, thanks, bye! Anyway, I could have gone the cookie crust for a pie but again.. no fridge space.  So as I was making orders and chopping chocolate to make ganache that’s when it hit me.  BARK!  Actually I said it out loud as Mr. Fantabulous yelled from the other room “You say something honey?” I just giggled and said “Um no.. tv is on, yeah.. tv is on”  LOL

So I got to chopping more chocolates and then breaking up the cookies. As I put the layer of cookies on top it I realized it needed something more.  It needed more Oomph!  A WOW factor.  Know what I mean jellybean?  *giggle*  Mr. Fantabulous says that to me all the time!  I wanted a creamy factor in the middle. Oh yeah.. I knew exactly what had to go in the middle of this bad boy.  We’re talking creamy gooey thick decadence on top of luscious cookies smack dab between 2 layers of chocolate .

I made this, stuck it in the fridge and waited…

… and waited

… and waited

…then fell asleep, went to work, ran errands, taught class and thought about the bark all day.  By the time I got home I was STARVING and the only thing I wanted was THIS!

Unfortuantely THAT had to wait as Mr. Fantabulous NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDED-TO-EAT-ELSE-HE-WAS-GOING-TO-STARVE-TO-DEATH.. Men!  Gettin’ in the way of me and this godsend treat!  However I’m a loving wife and made him his grub, cleaned up and then took this puppy out of the fridge.  Dear Lord it was gorgeous!  Almost too pretty to cut.. ALMOST!  I couldn’t get to the knife fast enough!

As I cut it, that caramel just barely oozed out… my word people.  I actually felt my heart racing in anticipation.  I mean I know how awesome  my cookies are and well, chocolate is well… heaven but put this all together with the caramel.  This was pure bliss on my lips..all 14 times I tried it *blush*

SHUSH!  Don’t look at me like that with them eyes all a-glarin’!  LOL  Now go make some of this!

Day 17 – Countdown to Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookie Caramel Bark – 2012

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• Author: The Kitchen Whisperer

Ingredients

• 3 cups melted chocolate – 1 cup milk, 1 cup semi sweet and 1 cup dark
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips *optional
• 2–3 cups chocolate chip cookies broken up into small pieces (about nickel size)
• 1 – 1 1/2 cups Caramel Sauce I highly recommend using this caramel sauce
• 2–3 cups white chocolate melted

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Instructions

1. Line a 9×13” sheet pan with foil.
2. Pour the 3 cups of melted chocolate onto the foil and tilt the pan from side to side to evenly distribute.
3. Put in the refrigerator for 5 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the fridge and evenly distribute the cookie pieces on top, lightly pressing down so each piece adheres to the chocolate.
5. Drizzle caramel sauce on top.
6. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes.
7. Remove the pan from the fridge and pour 2 cups of the melted white chocolate over top distribute as evenly as possible.
8. Do not try and smooth it out with a utensil as you’ll smear the caramel sauce beneath it. Instead tilt the pan from side to side. If not all areas are covered, use the remaining 1 cup in the gapped areas.
9. Put in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
10. Remove from the pan, remove foil and cut with a very sharp knife.

Notes

If you don’t want to make your own caramel sauce from scratch, be sure you buy a sauce and not ice cream topping. You want something that will thicken up when cooled.

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