If you're looking for a decadent and delectable treat that's also easy to make, look no further. These Caramel Crunch Bars are hands down one of the best things I’ve ever baked! They're cookie bars with a kind of caramelized, brown sugar shortbread base laced with a shot of espresso and studded with bits of chocolate. The bars are then topped with a layer of even more chocolate and finished off with a generous sprinkling of toffee bits. Even though there isn’t any actual caramel in the recipe, the cookie base bakes up gooey, crunchy and chewy all at the same time, with a rich “caramel-y” flavor. The perfect fake out!
This article appears in Jan 20-26, 2010.