Salted Caramel Pretzel Bark

This is a holiday favorite of mine. It's not a "holiday" dessert but I can never justify making this without having several people to share with. Great to stick in tins and give to coworkers!

THE INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 cup brown sugar

2 bags chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate but pick whatever you like)

1 bag of salted pretzels

Sea Salt

THE RECIPE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay your pretzels in a single layer.

Melt butter in a saucepan with brown sugar. Stir until it starts to bubble. Before its thickened completely, pour over your pretzels. The spoon or whisk should leave a trail in the caramel, but you don't want it thick enough to stick to the spoon.

Bake pretzels and caramel for 5-7 min, until the caramel has spread out over the bottom of the pan. Remove and poke any shifted pretzels back into place with a fork.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler until completely smooth. Pour over the pretzels and smooth out with a spatula.

Sprinkle sea salt over the top of the chocolate.

Refrigerate 2 hours or until completely firm. Remove from pan and break apart into pieces (you really shouldn't eat the entire sheet whole, people might judge you).

Enjoy!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Awhile back I made a Coconut Custard Pie and we had some coconut flakes left over. Since it's not an every day ingredient, I've been struggling to find ways to get rid of it! So I got this idea on a whim.

THE RECIPE
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Stick Unsalted Butter
1/2 Teaspoon Coconut Extract
1 Whole Egg
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Flaked Coconut

Mix softened butter (not melted) and sugar in mixing bowl until combined. Beat in egg and coconut extract.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Slowly pour dry ingredients into the butter/salt mixture. Combine just until flour disappears - do not over mix!
Pour in chocolate chips and flaked coconut.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll dough into balls and bake on greased baking sheet 15-20 minutes, until bottoms are light brown.

THE RESULT
The cookies came out of the oven delicious!! They were cooked perfectly, light brown on the bottom and chewy in the middle.

I took the cookies off of the baking sheet right away so they didn't over cook and they held their shape well. However, after the cookies cooled, they hardened immediately! I was really disappointed in that, as I love a soft, cakier cookie. I think the issue here is that there is a bit too much flour in the recipe. If you're going to try at home, I'd suggest cutting the flour to 3/4 cup to see how it works. I haven't tried it yet, but I will keep you updated!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies