Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Caramel Crunch Bars (TWD)


This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by Whitney of What's left on the table?: Caramel Crunch Bars. I've had my eye on these for quite some time now, and was glad to see that they were finally picked!


It's a caramel-sweet brown sugar cookie/shortbread, slathered in a layer of chocolate, and then sprinkled with toffee bits! I love anything caramel or toffee so I couldn't wait to try these. Those who live outside of the U.S. may have trouble finding Heath toffee bits, but if you can't find them, you can simply make your own toffee and crush them into bits.


I decided to take this opportunity to try the Jembrana chocolate I won from Amano through Blake Makes. The Jembrana chocolate is made with cacao beans harvested from Bali. It has a deep chocolate flavor, a gentle nuttiness, and a very subtle coffee undertone. Chocolate purists will probably insist that you enjoy this chocolate by itself, but this was the perfect choice for Dorie's Caramel Crunch Bars, which actually contain a small amount of coffee in them. If you are a chocolate lover and haven't tried Amano chocolates yet, I encourage you to give them a try. They are one of the few American based chocolate makers that focuses on producing a super premium, high quality chocolate.


It seems that these bars were received with mixed emotions in our TWD group. I totally loved them, even had a hard time eating just one. Just imagine a chocolate chip cookie dipped in chocolate and then toffee bits - that's what these tasted like! :) Even better, they're easier to make than cookies, because you bake it all in one pan then cut it into bars. Ten minutes of prep time and it was ready to go in the oven!


Thanks Whitney, for choosing the Caramel Crunch Bars. I will definitely be making these again! If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you visit the TWD Blog Roll to see what everyone else thought of these crunchy treats!


* Recipes notes
- I used semisweet chocolate chips, finely chopped, in this recipe but mini chocolate chips would be great (and convenient) to use here.
- Several bakers found these bars to be a bit on the thin side, but I found them to be just right. If you want a thicker bar, use a 9x9-inch square pan instead of a 13x9-inch pan.
- Be very careful not to overmix the dough.
- These will keep, covered, for about 4 days. Wrapped airtight, they can be frozen up to 2 months.
- For more tips, click here.


35 comments:

  1. Your pictures are great and they are tempting me to make them again. Lovely job!

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  2. This one is really making me hungry! I'm a fan of sweets myself and I can just eat them all day. By seeing this I have to go out right now to grab myself a few caramel bars. Too bad it won't be good looking as the ones on here.

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  3. Glad to know you liked them, they look amazing! I've had my eye on this recipe for a while.

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  4. I think your bars turned out great! They look absolutely delicious--and thicker! Yum.

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  5. I love your pictures and great use of the Amano chocolate!

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  6. Those pictures are stunning! I love that you used that brand of chocolate! I've never heard of it, I'm going to have to check it out!

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  7. These sound & look great! Really what's not to like?
    ~ingrid

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  8. Your bars look absolutely amazing. Perfect.

    I used a 9 x 13 pan too and had no trouble with the thickness.

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  9. Your bars look delicious! These weren't my favorite TWD recipe but I'm glad you enjoyed them so much.

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  10. Those look absolutely lovely, Jaime! Especially made with such great chocolate... mmmm... you must have made a couple of happy people!

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  11. These look great! I was a big fan as well!

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  12. Thses look great. I want some,now!!!

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  13. good , good, good, i m drooling . I m feeling the crunch in my mouth :)

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  14. Jamie, Did you make your own toffee too? It looks so perfect, just like Dorie's!

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  15. Great idea to use the Amano! They look great!

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  16. Yours look fabulous! Glad you enjoyed them!

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  17. Oh Jaime you did a fantastic job on these bars, they look wonderful!!

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  18. I thought they were just right, too, as far as thickness goes. And your chocolate sounds so delicious!

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  19. Yours look amazing! I used my Jembrana bar as well. Yum!

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  20. What a sweet treat for the eyes!!

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  21. i'm glad to finally hear that someone enjoyed these! i could hardly believe that something with those ingredients wouldn't be delicious. very nicely done, jaime. :)

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  22. These look amazing. I have been drooling over all of the posts. I need to make these, but I better give them away. I know I could eat all of them!

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  23. Those look fantastic! I love your dishes/baking stuff. They are always amazing and make me drool over the screen... can't wait to come back to TWD and DB soon!

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  24. Wonderful. I will try the Amano chocolates. I mean I love chocolate and your bars look perfect!

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  25. I'm with you on the Amano chocolates--SO complex and rich.

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  26. Sounds like a perfect recipe for your specialty chocolate. The results look just great! Nice job!!

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  27. Perfect way to use that Amano chocolate - they look absolutely delicious!

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  28. Nice use of the Amano chocolate. Mine was already long gone (chocolate-filled croissants). =) Your bars look great.

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  29. OMG OMG OMG - I must make those, and come to think of it, I'm contemplating joining TWD too. Again, your photos look beautiful, and your caramel crunch bars are perfection!

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  30. MMMmmmm Jaime, they really look/sound good. I'm looking forward to getting this one on a plate. Great job.
    AmyRuth

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  31. Yum. I love the Amano chocolate myself. Plus I am totally lucky since they are close by. Hopefully we'll be organizing a tour soon. Your bars look awesome!

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