The Culinary Works

I am a stalker of culinary blogs - and when a blog I really dig says "you MUST make this", I take it as a personal challenge. This recipe is so easy to put together and without the fuss of having to measure out for individual cookies, it is truly a mix and dump it recipe, simply dump your "brittle" on a baking sheet, apply a small amount of maintenance and I present to you: cookie brittle!

Cookie Brittle

Adapted from The American Country Inn Bed and Breakfast Cookbook, Vol. 2

You can try a variety of chip and nut combinations in the mix-- the original recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate chips and cashews, but I did a combo of baking items I had on hand - I think throwing shredded coconut into the mix would also be quite good.

• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsalted roasted cashews
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (60% cacao--I like Ghiradelli)

Kitchen Note: I used this mix: 1/4 cup dark Ghiradelli chips, 1/4 cup regular semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cup butterscotch chips, 1/4 c heath bar chips, and 1/2 c chopped pecans

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and set a rack to the center position.
2. Pour the melted butter into a large bowl, and stir in the vanilla. With a wooden spoon (or your hands, if your prefer), add the sugar, salt and flour and mix to combine--the mixture will be somewhat crumbly, like a moist pie dough. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.
3. Press the mixture in a thin, even layer onto an ungreased cookie sheet .
   Kitchen Note: I used a 9x13 jelly roll pan. i used a small rolling pin to get it as flat as possible-using the chips as a guide. the edges might look too crumbly, as mine did but don't fret...just shove it together a little and the rest will bake together.
4. Use the chocolate chips as your guide--try to get them in as close to a single layer as possible throughout the dough, and you'll have the right thickness.. You may not fill the entire sheet with the dough--that's okay.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until light golden brown (the edges will be a bit darker than the center). Let cool completely before breaking into whatever sized pieces you desire.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.