(From Joanne Fluke’s “Raspberry Danish Murder”)

 

The Crust and Topping

2 cups salted butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 ½ cups powdered  sugar

¼ cup cocoa powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon vanilla

3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

 

The Caramel Filling

12 ¼-ounce jar caramel ice cream topping

⅛ cup whipping cream

1 cup (6-ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons sea or Kosher salt

 

 

Prepare 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan.

Combine butter, white sugar, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a large bowl and beat until the mixture is light and creamy.

Add the vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined.

Add the flour in half-cup increments, beating after each addition, until thoroughly combined. (The resulting sweet chocolate dough will be soft. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.)

Measure out one rounded cup of the sweet dough. Wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator to chill.

Press the remaining dough into the bottom of your prepared pan, as evenly as you can, to form a bottom crust.  Bake at 325°F for approximately 20 minutes or until the edges  turn a deeper brown color.

While the crust is baking, open the jar of caramel ice cream topping, take off the metal lid, and place the open, lidless jar in the microwave. Heat the contents on HIGH for 20 seconds.

Use pot holders to take the jar out of the microwave. Dump the warm caramel topping in a microwave-safe bowl.

Sprinkle the semi-sweet chocolate chips over the top of the caramel ice cream topping and pour the whipping cream on top of that.

Give the contents of your microwave-safe container a stir with a heat resistant rubber spatula.

Listen for your stove timer. When your crust has browned a bit around the edges, remove the pan from the oven, but DON’T SHUT OFF THE OVEN!

Set the pan with your baked crust on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack to cool. It should cool approximately 15 minutes, so set the oven timer for that length of time.

After your crust has cooled approximately 15 minutes, place the microwave-safe bowl with the mixture of caramel topping, chocolate chips, and whipping cream in the microwave.

Heat the caramel mixture for 1 minute at HIGH power. Let the bowl sit in the microwave for an additional minute and then try to stir the caramel, cream, and chocolate mixture smooth with the heat resistant spatula or a wooden spoon. If you cannot stir the mixture smooth, heat it for an additional 20 seconds at HIGH power, let it sit in the microwave for an equal length of time, and then try again. Repeat as often as necessary, alternating heating and standing times until you achieve a smooth mixture.

Once your chocolate caramel mixture is melted, add the half-teaspoon of vanilla extract and stir until smooth.

Pour the chocolate caramel mixture over the baked crust as evenly as you can. Spread it out with the heat resistant spatula so that it reaches the very edges of the pan.

Sprinkle the two teaspoons of sea salt or Kosher salt over the chocolate caramel layer in the pan.

Take the remaining sweet dough out of the refrigerator and unwrap it. It has been refrigerated for 35 minutes or more and it should be thoroughly chilled. Crumble the dough over the caramel layer as evenly as you can, leaving little spaces for that yummy chocolate caramel to peek through.

Return the pan to the oven and bake at 325°F for 25 to 30 additional minutes, or until the caramel layer is bubbly and the crumble crust is golden brown.

Take the pan out of the oven, turn off the oven, and place the pan on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack to cool. Resist the urge to cut just one Chocolate Caramel Bar Cookie to taste it. It will still be molten hot for at least another 25 minutes.

When your Chocolate Caramel Bar Cookies are completely cool, cut them into brownie-size pieces.