Twix
Apparently I like dipping things in chocolate. I need to get some tongs. Chopsticks don't work for the uncoordinated.
The only baked part of this is the shortbread. I used this recipe halved.
1 c butter
1 1/4 c AP flour
1 c white whole wheat (recommend King Arthur over Trader Joe's; it's much more forgiving)
1/2 c packed brown sugar
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Cream butter and brown sugar. Add 3 to 3 3/4 cups flour. Mix well.
Sprinkle board with the remaining flour. Knead for 5 minutes, adding enough flour to make a soft dough. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into 3x1 inch strips. Prick with fork and place on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.
As with all shortbread, I had a bit of a time rolling it out. Am I the only one whose dough never quite pulls together? Anyway, I managed to get thirty cookies out of this.
Next step, the caramel. Hat's off to candymakers, because my attempt at from-scratch caramel was a disaster. It was either: saucepan too thin, thermometer wonky or that I used coconut milk in place of regular. It looked pretty, but separated upon cooling. Ah, well, I'm using that as a sauce base for some pears/apples.
Instead, I melted two bags of Kraft caramel with approximately 2 TB of coconut milk. I did it double boiler style, but you could do this in the microwave, nuking it in short intervals to make sure you don't fry the caramel. I poured the smooth, melted caramel in a well-buttered 13x9 cake pan. When the caramel was semi-set, I placed the shortbread cookies into it and allowed it to set completely.
Cut out the cookies, dipped them in dark chocolate, let them set and voila! Homemade Twix. If I'd thought about it, I might have added a dash of cinnamon to the chocolate and sprinkled sea salt on top, just for a little kick.
These turned out very well. They're intensely rich and buttery and yum. However, during the process I learned that it would have been better to bake the shortbread as one solid bar and to pour the caramel over it and cut it to size once it was all set. I didn't do this primarily because shortbread is crumbly and I thought it would be tough to cut cleanly. True, but getting the face-down cookies out of the caramel pan was ... not any cleaner. Thank goodness for the chocolate coating. ;)
The only baked part of this is the shortbread. I used this recipe halved.
1 c butter
1 1/4 c AP flour
1 c white whole wheat (recommend King Arthur over Trader Joe's; it's much more forgiving)
1/2 c packed brown sugar
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Cream butter and brown sugar. Add 3 to 3 3/4 cups flour. Mix well.
Sprinkle board with the remaining flour. Knead for 5 minutes, adding enough flour to make a soft dough. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into 3x1 inch strips. Prick with fork and place on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.
As with all shortbread, I had a bit of a time rolling it out. Am I the only one whose dough never quite pulls together? Anyway, I managed to get thirty cookies out of this.
Next step, the caramel. Hat's off to candymakers, because my attempt at from-scratch caramel was a disaster. It was either: saucepan too thin, thermometer wonky or that I used coconut milk in place of regular. It looked pretty, but separated upon cooling. Ah, well, I'm using that as a sauce base for some pears/apples.
Instead, I melted two bags of Kraft caramel with approximately 2 TB of coconut milk. I did it double boiler style, but you could do this in the microwave, nuking it in short intervals to make sure you don't fry the caramel. I poured the smooth, melted caramel in a well-buttered 13x9 cake pan. When the caramel was semi-set, I placed the shortbread cookies into it and allowed it to set completely.
Cut out the cookies, dipped them in dark chocolate, let them set and voila! Homemade Twix. If I'd thought about it, I might have added a dash of cinnamon to the chocolate and sprinkled sea salt on top, just for a little kick.
These turned out very well. They're intensely rich and buttery and yum. However, during the process I learned that it would have been better to bake the shortbread as one solid bar and to pour the caramel over it and cut it to size once it was all set. I didn't do this primarily because shortbread is crumbly and I thought it would be tough to cut cleanly. True, but getting the face-down cookies out of the caramel pan was ... not any cleaner. Thank goodness for the chocolate coating. ;)