Salted Caramel Cookie Bars

I was looking for something different to bake, and also looking for a recipe that I could adapt to be gluten free. I chose these, although I also realized that I was trying to avoid chocolate, but I seemingly can’t think of too many things at once! The original recipe had caramel bits and chocolate chips, and I thought that using the salted caramel chocolate chips would be perfect.

Making these cookies gluten free wasn’t too hard, as I have a gluten free flour mix that I try to always have on hand. Also, I realized that our nonstick cooking spray for baking was not gluten free, so I had to check ingredients on the other cooking spray I have to be safe. It would be terrible to make something gluten free and then use cooking spray with flour, making the recipe decidedly not free from gluten.

I will say, that these cookies weren’t my greatest triumph. Perhaps if you can’t have gluten you wouldn’t notice much? The chips I used were sweetened with Stevia, and that also added a different flavor. Sometimes items with specialty flavors use artificial extracts and they are never quite right. These cookies had a slight oddness with the first bite, but then it lessened. My husband thinks that they grow on you, and you’re fine after tasting one cookie. I’m not sure. They would be tasty with traditional flour and the original combination of chocolate chips and caramel bits.

Salted Caramel Cookie Bars
½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ cups salted caramel chocolate chips   
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
½- 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt the butter. Continue cooking over low heat until the butter begins to brown and smell nutty. The butter can burn quickly, so don’t look away. Once browned, transfer the butter to a large mixer bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Once the butter has cooled slightly, add the sugar and brown sugar and mix on medium to combine. Add the egg and vanilla and stir to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour. Stir in the salted caramel chocolate chips and toasted pecans with a spatula.

Press the mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top of the bars begins to turn golden. Once the bars come out of the oven, sprinkle with kosher salt.

Allow to cool before removing the bars from the pan and cutting into squares.

Recipe from Miss in the Kitchen