Salted Caramel Coconut Blondies

Ever since I made those homemade Girl Scout caramel delights, I have been thinking about that toasted coconut caramel topping. I literally could have eaten that topping straight from the bowl. Which got me thinking that I must be able to use that salted caramel and toasted coconut combination in another cookie. I drove down to Rhode Island today for my friend Lauren’s Bridal Shower so spent a lot of time in the car trying to think of what my Sunday cookie would be this week. After trying to figure out if I could make a mimosa-flavored cookie because they were amazing at brunch this morning, I decided I was too tired for risky experimenting and I’d try a variation on my lazy-man’s cookie — the blondie. I’ve had bad luck baking cookies with caramel before because sometimes the caramel burns on the outside, so I thought if I stuffed the blondie with the coconut and caramel that would reduce the risk of burning. And I was right. These are one of the best blondie variations I’ve ever made.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 2 cups light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 bag chocolate chips
  • 3 cups coconut
  • 12 ounces caramels
  • 3 tablespoons cream (or half and half)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Step 1:  To toast the coconut, heat the oven to 300 degrees. Spread the coconut out on a sil-pat or parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to make sure it does not burn. Leave the coconut out to cool and turn the oven up to 350 degrees.

Step 2: In a saucepan over the stove melt the butter and brown sugars and whisk until incorporated. Set it aside to cool.

Step 3: Once the sugar is cool, put it in the mixer and mix in the eggs and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix well. Add in the chocolate chips and mix.

Step 4: In a microwave-safe bowl, melt together the caramel, salt, and cream. It should take about 4 minutes or so, but take it out every 30 seconds and stir well. Once the caramel is smooth, add the coconut into it.

 

Step 5: Place half of the cookie dough into a well-greased 13×9 baking dish. Spread the coconut caramel mixture on top so it is even. Take the remaining cookie dough and cover all of the caramel. Bake are 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

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I was not sure how I felt about these when they were right out of the oven. Luckily I have my live-in taste tester who gave me the thumbs up. We let them set for a few hours and then just cut ourselves a serving while we watch Friday Night Lights and oh man, letting these sit a little bit makes all the difference. If you like coconut and you like caramel, you are going to love these.

This past week was a big one. Lots of accomplishments beyond cookie making. I got promoted to manager at work, which is exciting and now gives my dad more of a reason to overuse the hashtag #likeaboss. And the huge work project that I have been working on for the past 9 months finally launched Thursday night at midnight. So once you’ve done reading this blog post, you definitely need to check out www.crabtree-evelyn.com and admire the beautifully redesigned site. I know more about soap and lotion than I ever thought possible, and I am now really looking forward to catching up on some long overdue sleep. I actually fell asleep Friday sitting up getting a manicure and then proceeded to go to bed at 8:30 and sleep for 12 hours. But lucky for all of you guys, more sleep means more cookies 🙂 I’m looking for a little cookie inspiration, so if there are any cookies you’d like me to try to make just shoot me an email: thesaltedcookie@gmail.com