Cookie Dough Billionaire Bars - (Free Recipe below)

Cookie Dough Billionaire Bars

For Shortbread:

2 cups (1 lb or 4 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

For Caramel:

2 cups sugar
12 tablespoons butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp fleur de sel or fine sea salt

For Cookie Dough:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For Chocolate Ganache:

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on two sides.

To make the shortbread, beat butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add in flour and salt and mix on low until just combined. Press the dough into prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes until edges are slightly browned. It may look puffy and jiggly in the center at first, but it will fall and set as it cools. Shortbread recipe from Picky-Palate.com.

For the caramel layer, make Salted Caramel Sauce recipe on TwoPeasandTheirPod.com. Pour about half of the hot caramel mixture over the shortbread crust. Refrigerate until set, at least one hour. If the caramel is still soft and sticky after 1 hour, freeze for another 15 minutes before continuing.

To prepare cookie dough, beat butter and sugars on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add heavy cream and vanilla and mix well. Add flour and salt and mix on low speed until just incorporated. Stir in the mini chocolate chips. Spread cookie dough on top of caramel layer using a spatula to smooth dough into an even layer. Refrigerate the dough while you prepare the chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache Layer: Place chocolate chips in a glass bowl. In a saucepan, whisk together the heavy cream and vanilla and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Pour over the chocolate chips, let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk until completely smooth. Pour the ganache over the cookie dough layer and chill until set, about 30 minutes.

To remove bars from pan, grasp the edges of the parchment paper and lift out the entire block. Place on a cutting board and use a large sharp knife to cut into 2-inch squares. Refrigerated in an airtight container, bars will keep for up to 3 days.

Recipe reprinted with permission from The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook by Lindsay Landis.