Sweet and Salty Turtle Cookie Bars

My friend Christy made these a couple of days ago and they were so delicious, I put them on the menu for Sunday dessert. They start with a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough on the bottom , followed by drizzled caramel ice cream topping, crushed pretzels, pecans andthen to finish it off, another layer of cookie dough on top. Pure heaven. Even better with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. My pictures turned out really bad, so I used the one from Jenny's website. (Just FYI mine did not look a lot like hers. Instead of scooping the extra dough out of a cookie scoop, I just pressed it down over all the toppings so the finished look was a lot like a normal chocolate chip cookie bar. I might try it the other way next time because hers do look really pretty.)

Sweet and Salty Turtle Cookie Bars

slightly adapted from Picky Palate

2 sticks softened butter

3/4 Cup sugar

3/4 Cup brown sugar

2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanillla

2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 Cups chocolate chips

3/4 Cup caramel ice cream topping

1/2 Cup chopped pretzel sticks

1/2 Cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer cream butter and sugars until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla until well combined. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl and slowly add to wet ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. 2. Spray a 11x7 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Press 1/2 of the cookie dough into the bottom of the dish. Drizzle caramel sauce over dough then sprinkle with pretzels and nuts . With a cookie scoop, scoop the remaining cookie dough evenly over top of pretzels and nuts. Press down slightly, should look uneven. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until cookies just start to turn golden on the edges. Remove and let cool completely before cutting into squares. 12 bars

Posted by: Sallie