Tuesday, March 10, 2009

TWD: Caramel Crunch Bars

barscaramelcrunch (2)

Finally, these were baked and posted! I was going to skip this, but then when I was swamped with tests to study for, I decided that making cookie dough was more fun. I put the dough in the freezer and it sort of just stayed there until now..haha. I halved the recipe, but I think I really should have made 2/3rds of it because as the dough was coming together I was starting to realize that there was no way it could fit in my 9 inch pan without being paper thin. I considered turning them into cookies, but then I decided to use a 9x5 loaf pan. I only used 1/2 the cinnamon (1/8th since I halved) because I was afraid it would mask the coffee flavour. I chopped up some Lacey's we still had leftover from Christmas and reduced the butter to 3/4 cup (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp since I halved) because 1 cup of butter to 1.5 cups of flour seemed like a lot! Plus, the bubbly percolating and puckering Dorie mentioned made me feel like this cookie was swimming in butter. Overall, the texture of these bars were perfect. Crunchy, crumbly with the slightest chew. I'm not a crazy cinnamon fan so I'll omit it next time, but will double up on instant coffee for extra coffee flavour!

Thanks to Whitney of What's left on the table for choosing this recipe, which can be found on her blog and here. Don't forget to check out the TWD blogroll!

29 comments:

  1. Your crunch bar looks delicious. Thanks for the yummy reminder!

    ReplyDelete
  2. These sure look good, I have a weakness for anything that involves toffee!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My, do these bars look divine! You've got all my favorite flavors in there. I just can't wait to taste these for myself. I think I need to get out Dorie's book right now!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mmmh... I'm so sorry I could not taste them... Those sound so tasty... Very well done!

    Cheers,

    Miette

    ReplyDelete
  5. You do need to keep your strength up for those long days and nights of studying, you know! I didn't make these but I can see a personal rewind sometime in the future. Yours look wonderful!
    Good luck on the tests!

    ReplyDelete
  6. swimming in butter is just about right! And so good. Yours look great, and good luck on all that work!!
    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  7. I loved these too!! Yum!!!
    Actually made them last Sunday...

    ReplyDelete
  8. SOoo glad that you didn't skip making these bars - they're sooo tantalizing (especially since I'm a caramel FANATIC)!!

    Good luck studying!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. They look luscious, Steph. I liked these better the 2nd day. I wasn't that crazy about the cinnamon, either. Nice job!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Toffee is my weakness! Love it!! Nice job on the bars!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ha! I remember my apartment being cleaner than clean during exams. I wish that I baked bake in school -- that would be a much more fun way to procrastinate than cleaning! Your crunch bars look amazing, and I am soooooo wanting more of them right about how!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I agree, more coffee flavor would be perfect. These would be perfect with my coffee right now! Breakfast of champions!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Better late than never ;) I love baking when procrastinating.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your photo says it all...these are scrumptious!

    ReplyDelete
  15. These look amazing! Makes me want to make them again. I'm still craving them.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I've made this...a lot actually, and it's one of my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Those look gorgeous, especially the sticky,chewy topping! Mmm :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. They look wonderful.....not sure what Lacey's is but I want some. I can't believe you don't like cinnamon :-), I'm the opposite I'd reduce the amount of coffee and up the cinnamon.
    ~ingrid

    ReplyDelete
  19. Mmm, yours look sinfully good!

    I agree, baking is more fun than studying.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi, thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog. YES! I insist you give blondies a try. Question do you like chocolate chip cookie dough batter (think without the chips or nuts)? Okay this is BETTER and you like cookies you can tweak them to suit YOUR taste AND they're in bar form. Couldn't be easier! Do it! DO it! DO IT!!
    ~ingrid

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh my goodness... that photo takes my breath away! Excuse me while I wipe the drool off of my keyboard :P jkjk... seriously though, I could just bite my screen right now!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Your cookie bars looks delicious and yes, cookie dough is more fun than studying and it's fun to eat a little raw dough while studying = )

    ReplyDelete
  23. They look and sound fabulous! Cookie dough is always more fun than studying!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Steph, nothing and I mean nothing is better than a warm slice of banana bread fresh out of the oven. So good and delicious!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. You know, I haven't made these yet and you've inspired me. Do you think these would travel well? We're off on spring break next week....might be fun to bring these along.
    They looks scrumptious!
    AmyRuth

    ReplyDelete
  26. You know, I haven't made these yet and you've inspired me. Do you think these would travel well? We're off on spring break next week....might be fun to bring these along.
    They looks scrumptious!
    AmyRuth

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thank you SO much for coming over to answer my questions and more.....you are so thoughtful. I think I will lighten up on the cinnamon although I typically like it I wouldn't want a tug of war on flavors. Especially with chocolate. I like using good quality chocolate. Good to have the tips on texture. See, I need to read the recipe. I have some tins and I think they would travel well in one. Thanks a million once again.
    AmyRuth

    ReplyDelete
  28. Yummmm!! This looks really delicious!! Really!

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails