Caramel Filled Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

When it comes to chocolate desserts, it doesn't get any better than this!! These salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars have so many layers of goodness, you've got to try them to believe them!

Servings: 18 people

Ingredients

Chocolate chip cookie bars ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted sweet cream butter melted and cooled (12 tablespoons)
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
12 ounces caramel candy squares (about 3/4 of a 1 lb bag, unwrapped)
4 tablespoons heavy cream

Chocolate ganache ingredients:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 bag mini chocolate chips 12 ounce bag

Instructions

To make the chocolate chip cookie bars:

Preheat oven to 325°F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Using a standing mixer or hand mixer, cream together the melted butter and sugars on medium speed until combined.
Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the batter with mixer on low speed. Stop when batter is just combined to avoid over-beating.
Stir in chocolate chips by hand.
Add caramels and heavy cream to a medium saucepan over medium heat. As caramels start to melt, whisk together mixture until smooth - about 2 minutes.
Press half of the cookie dough into a prepared 9x13" baking pan (we used parchment paper), smoothing the top down with a spatula.
Pour the hot caramel over the cookie dough and spread into an even layer, leaving about ½ inch around the border, so you can seal the caramel inside with the top layer of cookie dough.
Drop the remaining cookie dough in spoonfuls over the caramel and gently spread the dough with a spatula until the caramel is covered. Start from the outside and work your way to the middle to help seal in the caramel.
Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F, or until the top of the bars are a light golden brown.
Place the pan on a wire rack and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for about 30 minutes to allow the caramel layer to set.