@mseling (yes, I just referred to her by Twitter name) is a person I admire on many levels. She's an amazing writer; she's a fixture in the Seattle music scene; and--most importantly--she bakes a mean cookie. And at my recent cookie exchange party, she brought it--literally--with two amazing batches of delicious treats. Here's the first recipe of the two, which is a bar cookie, adapted from Martha Stewart's "Rocky Ledge Bar" recipe. Let me tell you, these bars--which are weighty little morsels, chock full of marshmallows, rich, buttery and caramel-y topping, and of course, chocolate--are serious business, but seriously delicious. Some might say they're too much, but I say they're just enough.
Rocky Ledge Bars
-makes 16 bars -
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Note: if you are in a crunch, you could make these using a brownie or blondie box mix--simply use the mix as specified on the box, omit the ingredients used for the cake base, and skip to step 3.
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 1/2 cups packed dark-brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- 18 soft caramel-candy cubes, coarsely chopped
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper, allowing a 2-inch overhang on the longer sides. Brush parchment with butter (not overhang).
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter and brown sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until well combined. Mix in flour mixture until combined. Fold in half of each of the marshmallows, chocolates, butterscotch chips, and caramels.
- Spread batter in prepared pan. Scatter remaining marshmallows, chocolates, butterscotch chips, and caramels on top. Bake until top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Lift out of pan, and transfer to a baking sheet. Refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes.
- Remove parchment, and cut into about 16 triangles. Bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.