12 Days of Christmas Cookies: Golden Chocolate-Chunk Nutty Bars

Editor’s Note:  Welcome to the first entry in the 2012 edition of The 12 Days of Christmas Cookies!  Every day from now until Christmas, we’ll bring you a new, scrumptious recipe for a holiday cookie treat.  Whether you leave them out for Santa or simply sample them all yourself is up to you, we just encourage you to try them all!  Leave your comments below each recipe and upload a photo if you make your own batch at home.  Season’s Eatings!

by Kathy K., Associate Editor, HockeyPub.com

MONTREAL, QC — This is a very hands-on recipe, but a lot of fun to make!  If you have a KitchenAid stand mixer, a lesson learned is to stay away from the whisking tool when you’re blending the ingredients in step 3.  (The dough gets stuck in the middle rather easily.)  There is lots of room to adapt here, as I used what I had on hand as opposed to the recipe’s ingredients.  Happy baking!

Golden Chocolate-Chunk Nutty Bars
Recipe adapted from Mrs. Fields’ Best Cookie Book Ever!, by Debbi Fields and the editors of Time-Life Books

Prep time: about an hour
(Makes 16 bars)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, salted or unsalted, cut into teaspoons
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
2 medium eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (or whatever nuts you like best. I used hazelnuts)
10 ounces coarsely chopped white chocolate/milk chocolate chips
Optional for this recipe: 1/2 cup shredded coconut.

1. Preheat oven to 300F. Grease a 9″ by 13″ baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.

3. In another medium bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla and blend slowly until smooth. Add flour mixture, chocolate, and hazelnuts.

4. Scrape the dough into the prepared baking pan and level and smooth the surface.

5. Bake 40-45 minutes or until the center is set and the top is golden.

6. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool to room temperature before cutting into 16 bars.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our next holiday cookie recipe: Inception Brownies!

Photo Credit: Kathy K.

Tags: christmas, cookies, featured, snacks