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Care for some cookies check out the latest from Blimpwolf's Cookie Challenge Collection from the kitchens of  blimpwolf

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Week 34: Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Bars

With the coming of the hot weeks of September, a truly decadent treat is needed to help get you through the heat. What better way than to take a classic ingredient, caramel, and find a way to turn up the volume? With a little bit of time, you can make a dessert cookie that will really wow your diners. Here's what you'll need:

- 2 1/8 cup all purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 sticks of butter (melted and cooled)
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 10 ounces of caramels
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- Sea salt (yes, it needs to be sea salt)

Note: This recipe will make approximately 3 dozen bars

To begin, preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and spray a glass 11x7 baking dish. In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda, then set aside. In a larger bowl, combine the melted butter with the light brown and granulated sugars. After, add in the egg and then the egg yolk, finishing with the vanilla. Use a mixer to combine the ingredients, mixing for 1-2 minutes. Add in the dry ingredients in thirds until fully combined, mixing just until the dry have been absorbed. After, mix in the chocolate chips and set aside.

In a microwave safe bowl (or a double boiler), melt together the caramels and cream in 20-second intervals, stirring at the end of each session (should take approximately 2 minutes to fully melt the caramels). Separate your dough in two, taking half of your mix and pressing it into the bottom of your greased baking dish (use your hands, it's fun!). Next, pour the caramel mixture over the base, and then sprinkle with sea salt (don't overdo the salt, just give a few sprinkles across the entire layer). Next, spoon out the rest of the dough and smooth it over the top of the caramel layer, finishing with a few extra sprinkles of sea salt. Place in your preheated oven and bake for approximately 30-minutes, turning halfway through. Once done, let cool to room temperature, then cut into bars, and store in an airtight container.

Salt and caramel go together quite well, with each bringing out the deeper flavors of the other. And by making cookies in bar form, they're easy to keep uniform in shape and size, so that all of your diners receive the same treats. To help ready more tasty flavor combinations, the kitchen will be staying open late. Care to place an order?

Want to know what this challenge is all about? Check out my journal and feel free to send in recipes for cookies! http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3096204/

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Tiramisu Cookies

While FA was having some downtime, the kitchens of Full Moon Cuisine decided to take another classic dessert and try to present it a new way. Let's take tiramisu, the creamy, delicate, coffee-flavors and bring them to the humble cookie. And maybe, just maybe, a cookie just for the grown-ups. How can this be done?! In a few easy steps and with a little bit of time, you'll have a cookie treat that will really wow your diners. Here's what you'll need:

- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 sticks of butter (at room temperature)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (plus extra for rolling)
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp rum extract

Note: This recipe will make approximately 1 1/2 dozen sandwich cookies

To begin, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder) and set aside. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter and sugar together, then add the egg, vanilla, and rum extract. Make sure you mix just until your ingredients have combined. Next, combine the dry ingredients into the wet in thirds, again mixing just until they have combined.

Pour approximately 1/2 cup of granulated sugar into a small bowl. Using a tsp, scoops out heaping teaspoon-sized balls of dough, using your hands to form them into balls, and then roll them around in the sugar to coat. Place your sugared dough balls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Now, to flatten out the dough, you can use your fingers, or in order to keep them nice and smooth, place the bottom of a glass into the bowl of sugar, then press down gently on the balls of dough until they form discs approximately 1 1/2" in diameter. Place the sheet into your oven for 10 minutes, rotating at the halfway mark. Allow to rest on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Now, I said that these are sandwich cookies, so let's get to the good stuff. For these cookies, to drive home that tiramisu flavor, the filling must be special. Here's what you'll need:

- 8 oz Mascarpone cheese (softened)
- 3 tbsp butter (at room temperature)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp espresso powder
- 1/4-1/3 cup powdered sugar
- Unsweetened cocoa powder

In a mixing bowl, mix together the Mascarpone with the butter, then add in your vanilla and espresso powder. The amount of powdered sugar is approximate, as what you are looking for is a mixture with the consistency of a thick frosting, something spreadable but not too firm. Start with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and then slowly add more to taste and texture. Transfer your filling to a plastic bag, cut the corner, and squeeze out approximately 2 tbsp into the middle of one of your cookies (turned upside down), then gently press another of equal size and shape down atop. This will spread your filling out to the edge (though if you wanted to add more filling, that's up to you!). To finish, just before serving, take some unsweetened cocoa powder and gently sprinkle some over the top of each sandwich cookie. This will add a gentle hint of chocolate flavor, just like you would have with tiramisu.

These cookies encapsulate the great flavors of tiramisu with a fraction of the time it would take you to make the full dessert! Plus, cookies tend to transport quite a bit easier than tiramisu. Paired with after-dinner coffee, these treats will surely deliver quite the grand finale to your meal. To help make sure we have enough to go around, the kitchen will be staying open late. Care to place an order?

Want to know what this challenge is all about? Check out my journal and feel free to send in recipes for cookies! http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3096204/

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Allergy warning – recipe contains dairy & egg products