Milky Way Chocolate Cookie Crumble Bars are my new favorite layered bar that’s a chocolate cookie dough base, topped with Milky Way bars, chocolate cookie dough crumbles, and drenched with creamy sweetened condensed milk. Less than 10 minutes to make without a mixer.
I was so in love with the bars I made two weeks ago and couldn’t get them out of my mind. So I made them again.
Chocolate style with Milky Ways instead of peanut butter cups. And I’m in love all over again.
Sometimes I go through dessert phases where all I want is cookies. And for weeks, I make batch after batch of cookies.
Right now I’m in a gooey bar phase. I’m loving this phase.
I just couldn’t get those Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Crumble Bars out of my head.
Soft and squishy centers with chewy edges. Dense, buttery, and full of gooey creaminess from the sweetened condensed milk. Not to mention, mini peanut butter cups in every bite.
Rather than remaking the exact same thing, although I was tempted but that doesn’t make for an interesting blog, I made chocolate cookie dough and baked in Milky Ways. If there’s a way to improve on something, adding chocolate is always good start.
Now I have two new favorite bars. I can’t pick which one I like better because they’re both ridiculously good.
Prep and assembly takes 10 minutes, no mixer is needed, and you can stir everything together in one bowl. The less dishes a recipe generates, the better.
Begin by melting one stick of butter. Stir in an egg, sugars, optional splash of coffee, vanilla, flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. The coffee brings out the chocolate flavor and it’s recommended. It doesn’t make the finished bars taste at all like coffee.
Transfer the thick dough into an aluminum foil-lined and cooking sprayed baking pan and press it down to form the base layer. Reserve about two-thirds cup dough for crumbling on top later.
I urge you to line your pan, leaving overhang, so you can just lift the bars out, and it makes cleanup a breeze. The sweetened condensed milk caramelizes, the Milky Ways melt, and without foil you’ll be cursing as you try to chisel glued-on bars out of the pan.
Sprinkle diced Milky Ways over the dough, or use another favorite candy such as Rolos, Snickers, Three Musketeers, or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Then lightly crumble the reserved cookie dough in chunks before baking.
Pour just over half of one can of sweetened condensed milk over the top.
Use the other half to make 7-Minute Microwave Caramels or Chocolate-Covered 7-Minute Microwave Caramels. You can make them in the microwave while the bars bake in the oven, and your house will smell like a bakery with caramels in the microwave and chocolate baking in the oven.
The hardest part of the recipe is that you must let the bars set up for about 3 hours before slicing or you’ll have a hot mess. Let them cool on the counter for an hour, then place the pan in the fridge for at least two hours, or overnight. Lift out with the foil overhang and slice, making clean, pretty squares.
Alternatively, just dig in with spoons as soon as they’re cool enough from the oven if you don’t care about clean and neat squares. Your stomach doesn’t care if the bars were neat or not as you shoveled them down.
The chocolate cookie portion is brownie-like in texture and taste, especially the centers. Rich, dense and fudgy.
The edges are chewier and denser and more like chewy-cookie edges. The perfect balance of soft and chewy.
The Milky Ways provide texture and another dimension of chocolate flavor. Between the nougat in them, and the creamy, rich, sweetened condensed milk that thickens while baking, I was in gooey nougat heaven.
I adore sweet milk, especially baking with it in layered bars. It takes on creamy caramel and vanilla tones while baking, accentuating the caramel in the Milky Ways.
Supremely rich, intense, bold, dark, and perfect for impromptu chocolate cravings. So many layers of textures and flavors, all in one bite from chocolate to caramel to vanilla.
Layered bars are where it’s at. Definitely a new favorite.
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Milky Way Chocolate Cookie Crumble Bars
A new favorite layered bar that’s a chocolate cookie dough base, topped with Milky Way bars, chocolate cookie dough crumbles, and drenched with creamy sweetened condensed milk. The chocolate cookie portion is brownie-like in texture and taste, especially the centers. Rich, dense, soft, and fudgy. The edges are chewier like a cookie, creating a balance of soft and chewy. So many layers of flavors and textures from caramel to vanilla to chocolate in each bite. Less than 10 minutes to make without a mixer.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons brewed coffee (leftover from the morning brew is fine), optional but highly recommended
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (I don’t sift)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 1/2 cups diced Milky Way Bars (or substitute with Snickers, Peanut Butter Cups Butterfinger, Heath, Rolos, 3 Musketeers)
- about 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (just slightly more than half of one standard 14-ounce can)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute. Allow the butter to cool momentarily so you don’t scramble the egg. Add the egg, sugars, coffee (water may be substituted but coffee is highly recommended to bring out the chocolate flavor; the bars do not taste like coffee at all), vanilla, and stir or whisk vigorously to combine, about 1 minute.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, optional salt and stir until just incorporated. Dough will be quite thick and dense.
- Reserve about 2/3 cup dough; set aside. Turn remaining dough out into prepared pan, smoothing it lightly with a spatula. Evenly sprinkle the Milky Ways over the dough. Using your fingers, lightly crumble the reserved cookie dough over the top in irregular, marble-sized chunks. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the top (just eyeball slightly over half of the can as you pour slowly).
- Bake for about 27 to 30 minutes, or until center is mostly set. The sweetened condensed milk should nearly be set in all places, but possibly a little loose in the very center of the pan is okay. Edges will be firm, raised, and darker than the interior. Bars firm up more in pan as they cool; don’t overbake because you want these to stay soft and gooey, and cocoa powder is prone to turning dry.
- Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 3 hours before slicing and serving (use foil overhang to lift out). I recommend cooling for 1 hour on the counter, and at least 2 hours in the refrigerator, or overnight. This ensures clean, pretty cut marks. If you don’t care about that, bars may be consumed as soon as they are cool enough to eat; grab a spoon and dig in. Extra bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Bars may be kept gluten-free by replacing the flour with your favorite gluten-free baking blend. Take care any ingredients used are suitable for your dietary needs.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 372Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 138mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 1gSugar: 39gProtein: 5g
Related Recipes:
Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Crumble Bars – A soft and chewy, dense, buttery cookie dough base, topped with peanut butter cups, and creamy, rich, sweetened condensed milk. A new favorite and an absolute must-make
White and Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Chocolate Cake Bars – All the decadence of cheesecake, minus the work. Ready in less than a half hour
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars – All the taste and texture of cookies, minus the work of making individual cookies. Bar cookies are so much faster and these are soft, chewy, and loaded with chocolate chunks
Coconut Peanut Butter Magic Cake Bars – One of my favorite desserts of 2011, and similar to Seven Layer or Magic Bars, but a cake base is used instead of a graham cracker crust. Soft, dense, rich, chewy, tons of textures and flavors, and so easy
Cookie Butter Brown Sugar Streusel Bars – Soft, chewy and moist from the cookie butter and all brown sugar dough base that’s topped with crunchy streusel bits
Peanut Butter Cocoa Krispies Smores Bars – No need for campfires, make s’mores at home. These smores have three layers, including a cocoa-crispy cereal top layer that’s made with peanut butter
Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars (GF with Vegan adaptation) – The hardest part of this recipe is unwrapping the caramels. Easy, loaded with texture from the oats, and dripping with chocolate
Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Squares (No-Bake, Vegan, GF) – A fast, easy, and texture-filled bar pairing two of my favorites, chocolate and peanut butter
Nanaimo Bars (No-Bake) – A triple layer bar that’s incredibly rich and satisfying. A chocolate-almond base, topped with a gooey middle, and finished with a layer of chocolate
Do you like Milky Way bars? Making pans of bars?
For straight up eating, I don’t generally reach for Milky Ways, but they’re wonderful to bake with because of their soft, malleable, texture compared to harder and crunchier Butterfinger or Heath Bars.
Pans of bars are one of my favorite things to make. Fast, easy, and I can be as creative as I want and not have to worry about something rising too much or not enough or spreading. No dough to chill, roll, knead or worry about. Just slap it in a pan and bake.
Thanks for the entries in the 24 Hours of Peanuts Cookbook and Prize Pack Giveaway and the Bestowed Healthy Care Package Delivery Giveaway
Will I have the same result with parchment paper? I’m concerned about sticking with foil (even greased foil)
You can try parchment if that’s what you have. I always use heavy duty nonstick foil but do what you think will work best.
Could I enjoy these warm out of the oven with ice cream or is it better to let them set for 2 hours before consuming?
Hi Averie!
Love these…I am including them as part of my new post- a Milky Way Cupcake recipe- to share more Milky Way recipes and I just had to include these! They look scrumptious :)
Thanks for sharing!
I’m not sure if you’ll see this message (it’s been a couple years since the last comment) but I’ve just got these out the oven, had a sneaky bit as I couldn’t resist, and the condensed milk is still completely liquid underneath (not on the surface though). Should I cook them for longer or is that going to set during the cooling? Thanks
Should I cook them for longer or is that going to set during the cooling? = I would say both. All ovens, climates, pans, etc vary so baking a little longer could be helpful in your situation. Some of it does ‘soak up’ upon cooling, but use your judgment.
Thanks for the recipe! I used Twix bars and doubled the recipe and my lucky coworkers will have a great treat tomorrow. (I may have snuck a taste and it may have been delicious.) I love your blog!
You have super lucky coworkers! I looooove Twix. I was having a major craving for them and raided my daughter’s leftover Halloween stash the other day :) I know they’d be great in the bars! Thanks for trying the recipe!
Just made these tonight with my daughter and her friend and they were a HUGE hit. Made the chocolate w the milky ways. Can’t wait to try these with snickers. Thank you for sharing such an awesome recipe.
Glad you and the girls enjoyed these…and Snickers (or most any Halloween candy that’s leftover!) would work great…Milky Way, 100 Grand, 3 Muskateers.. :)
Why is there a river of blue goo on the top?
It’s was the lighting I was using that cast a blue hue to the melted milky way gooey stuff.
Made these with mini Hershey bars and caramel bits (that’s what I had). So good. Thank you for the great recipe. Will have to try the original bars next. What are your thoughts on doubling the recipe? Do you think a 13 x 9 would work and if so any ideas on how long to bake? Thanks again.
Glad they worked out great for you and yes you could double and bake in a 9×13. I would start with the same amt of baking time and just watch closely and evaluate and see how things are looking.
yummy, that looks delicious…..Thanks for sharing this recipe….
Simon
your desserts are delish!!!question:do you prefer the rolo’s or milky way in the candy bar and why? i love caramel but wondering if the milky way more interesting as it has different components besides caramal and chocolat. also, i bought the minis so i don’t have to chop,have you tried this?
I really don’t think you can go wrong with either Rolo or Milky Way. I personally prefer the Peanut Butter Cup version of this recipe that I linked to in the post. It’a a lighter base (not chocolate like this one) and something about it and the PB cups just really work so well for my tastebuds! That’s not to say I didnt love the chocolate version, too! But PB is my true love.
Use whatever candy you have on hand (that’s what I do!). I dont go buy candy just to bake with it – I use the random stuff I accumulate. And if you want to leave the mini size whole, feel free. Or chop. Either way will work!
Finally made these and they were very good. I used strawberry flavored 3 Musketeer bars, which did go well with the batter. While I can say I enjoyed these a great deal (eating 1/2 the pan is a big sign), I also think I prefer the peanut butter version they were based on. That is likely my personal taste preference showing, so now have to wonder if I shouldn’t try these again with the PB cups! Keep up the great recipes.
Wow, I didn’t even know they made strawberry flavored 3 Musketeer bars. That was quite a jump in terms of adapting the choice of candy bar from a regular Milky Way bar to a strawberry 3 Musketeers bar and that may have been why you didn’t like this version quite as much as the PB version, but as you said, you still found them very good! I think all-chocolate based candy bars are the way to go – and for me, I love the PB version as well. Almost nothing can trump PB for me :) Thanks for LMK you made these!
Hi,
nice greetings from Germany (Berlin :-)
I´m Lisa and ich like this recipe. It sounds very good and I will try it out next time, because I´m an chocoholic ;-)
Please, excuse my terrible english..
Milky Ways are one of my favorites, and in a chocolate bar cookie with sweetened condensed milk? Oh, my! That looks down right amazing!!!
oh my goodness! I am at a loss for words – these look SO good!
These bars look absolutely scrumptious!!!
Oh my gosh! All of these fabulous bars are absolutely killing me! These look so good!
Oh my goodness, these look dangerously good :) I love milky way!
Oh my goodness, count me as one of the ‘droolers’! Pining, for sure – thank you so so much for posting this on Facebook so I could find you. New follower!
Absolutely gorgeous! And I think I want one of each of the other goodies at the bottom of the post too :) Thanks for sharing at Mom On Timeout!
oh my gosh these look so good too…I would have a hard time deciding between these bars….and i would have a hard time trying to patiently wait for the 3 hours to go by….i probably should make them before I goto bed….they’d be good for breakfast right? :-)
I mean you can slice them earlier, they’ll just be messy and not as neat :)
Absolutely love the look of these! Pinned for future reference.
Thanks for the Pin!
This looks fabulous! I’d love to have you link it up with our Wednesday link party at The Hopeless Housewife.
Usually PB cups are my weakness, but I think I’d like these bars just as much as the other ones. Because: chocolate! And caramel! In. Sane. You need to do a baking with candy bars book next. :)
That would be some fun recipe testing!
“Gooey bars” is an awesome phase to be in, if you ask me! Think of all the delicious possibilities with different candies and fillings you can use. I haven’t had a Milky Way bar in over a decade – you’re making me want to run out and buy a bag so that I can make this. I wish I had read this post earlier – I made a cookie bar last week and I didn’t wait long enough for it to set. When I cut it, it was a big gooey mess, nothing like the perfect, beautiful little squares you get. Next time, I’m popping it into the fridge, cause Lord knows I can’t wait long enough to start digging in ;)
The only way to get clean cuts on gooey bars is to let them set up overnight or at least put them in the fridge. It sort of defeats the principle of them being gooey to keep them neat for the camera but I find that neat gooey bars look better than gooey gooey bars on camera. One of those weird little food nuances. I’m sure your bars tasted fabulous!
I think the gooey bar phase is the best phase to be in! I hope you stay here for a while because I’m loving these recipes!
I want to stay in it, too!
I am in love with these .. made the peanut butter ones (except I used snickers), then have just thrown these ones in the oven. the choc ones are awesome! so awesome.
a couple of notes, in case they are of use to anyone.
in the choc one you pour the condensed milk over the ingredients instead of placing them on top (or at least thats what I did). this is a definite tick. it makes it all swim together pleasingly.
i happened to add just a tinge more butter than was necessary this time (i was combining a few ends of butter, a stick of butter is strictly 113g, i had 127g. This made the dough a little more moist and subsequently, easier to squish into the pan.
snickers i find are easier to handle and don’t fall apart in the oven.
in my oven, i stuck them in for 20 minutes, only b/c last time i went for 25, and they came out a little dry. less is more when it comes to heat and the brownie family, it seems.
averie, as always, a butter and sugar bomb of pleasure.
Yes you noticed that the PB ones and the choc ones, I poured the milk over at different phases of adding the crumble pieces. I honestly don’t think it matters too much but perhaps this version has a slight advantage.
And good for you for not baking too long! If I write bake 20 to 35 minutes, or until done, people would hate me. But with a recipe like this, there can be HUGE variance with people’s ovens, ingredients they used, etc so it’s a ‘bake til done’ recipe :) And yes, less is more when it comes to heat and the brownie family! Cocoa powder dries out SO FAST. I always am super careful with taking it out, pronto! I baked the choc ones less than the others, even though I had a slightly larger mass of dough based on the ingredient amounts used.
Great comment & thanks for making these and writing about it all in detail. So appreciated!
OMG….you made them chocolatey….
O_O
LOL :)
Oh. My. Word. I can take my eyes off of these bars. Yum!
Averie, you offer so many different goodies that it’s hard to choose. Which one is your favorite?
I can’t choose a favorite but these Milky Way Bars are excellent as are the Mini PB Cup version from 2 weeks ago. I have so many that I adore. Layered bars are my fave things in the whole world I think!
I want to live with you just so I can learn how to make all these delicious bars. Girl, you have fantastic taste and baking skills :)
Averie, you’ve so done it again! Who can resist the milky ways… this is so delish! Seriously, putting this one on my list…weekend baking list!
These look awesome and I can’t wait to try them but I’m a little confused on the amount of condensed milk. It says 1/2 cup, a little more than half a 14oz can. Should it be 1 cup? I think that is 8oz
Just go with slightly over half of one can. It’s more than 1/2 cup, probably in between 1/2 c and 3/4 cup. Sweetened cond milk is so sticky and thick that unless I absolutely have to measure it out, I don’t. I just eyeball. It’s quite a forgiving recipe so just go with slightly more than half a can and you’ll be just fine!
Sweetened condensed milk makes everything better, and these bars have just made the top of my “to-make” list. They look incredible! Pinned
Thanks, Rachel, for the pin and hope you make them!
It’s looking at recipes like this that make me wish I had no food allergies, that bars like this were calorie free and better for my health than zucchini pasta (which I do love, actually, but you get my drift) and that eating the whole pan might aid my digestion! LOL! At least I can drool over the pretty photos! :-D
Oh Michele, I know, there is way too much in here that if you have food allergies you can even work around. In 80% + of my recipes, there are substitutions one can make to keep it vegan or GF or even allergen-free based on certain allergies…but not these. Just too much going on!
This gooey bar phase is my favorite. I totally want to dive face first into this pan of milky way heaven.
The more chocolate the better! These look amazing! I go through phases too…but mine never seem to be healthy phases. ;)
Must find an occasion to make the gorgeous cookie bars.
I keep my healthy phases separate from my dessert phases :)
Averie – I just found your blog and everything looks so yummy! I can’t wait to start baking some of your goodies, but I am addicted to my kitchen scale. What weight measurement do you use for flour? I just want to get the same results! BTW, I love yoga too ;-)
Thanks!
I use King Arthur all-purpose flour (red bag) and honestly I don’t weigh it for 99% of my recipes. I maybe should, but I don’t. So I don’t know what to tell you. One cup, piled in semi-loosely, not SMOOSHED down, measuring flour how you’re supposed to with the scoop in method.
These cookie bars though, not going to matter if you’re off by 1/4 cup. HIGHLY forgiving :)
Appreciate the response. Thank you!
I get the same way when I realllllly love something–I have to try all sorts of different varieties. These look just as amazing as the peanut butter ones! Maybe a white chocolate variety in the future?? :)
50+ white chocolate recipes here…many of them are bars!
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2011/05/white-chocolate.html
And these 3 are AMAZING
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2011/08/white-chocolate-vanilla-marshmallow-cake-bars.html
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/03/coconut-peanut-butter-magic-cake-bars.html
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/08/coconut-white-chocolate-chip-blondies.html
I can see why you’re in love with these bars. I am in love with them and I want to marry them and have lots and lots of Milky Way babies with them. AMAZEBALLS.
LOL :) I would marry them if I could, too!
I was never a huge Milky Way fan. I loved candy bars with nuts, caramel, and/or toffee. Oh heck, combine all 3 if you will!!
For regular eating, they’re just meh to me. But for baking, they are so squishy and so nice (unlike a Heath Bar, which I love on it’s own) but for baking, I could chip a tooth chomping down into baked-in chopped Heath bars..lol
I think the only way to choose which bar I like best is to do a taste-off!
I know…how fun would that be!
Loving these! They look so great and love the addition of condensed milk as well, definitely be making these with some of my leftover candy bars!
YAY! And please LMK how they turn out for you!
Yum, these look so good! I love ooey gooey bars also! Thanks for sharing!
Such a great a versatile bar recipe. Love it :)
I want to bring these to Big PL but they’re so messy. I think I need to think of something neater :)
OMG, I cannot wait!! Whatever you bring will be fabulous, I know it!! :)
Girl I don’t even know what to bring. I thought I had it all figured out and then…I realized I don’t want to bring anything fussy and want to bring something in a nice, sturdy pan, not some delicate layer cake. I’m supposed to bring cake. But I kind of want to bring bars :) I wonder if I’d get in trouble? lol
Goooodness gracious, this is easily one of my favorite recipes I’ve seen from you! Aren’t layered bars the best? I feel like I have been in this phase for months and never want to leave, haha. It’s just so perfect, experiencing all those amazing flavors harmonized into one ultra gooey bar. I’m adoring this Milky Way adaptation!
You had me at ‘diced Milky Way bars’. I guess my ultimate weakness must be bar cookies/squares because just scrolling down this post had me making all sorts of inappropriate noises.
inappropriate noises…LOL
It’s been than the holy Sh*t!!! that I think to myself when I see some recipes that get me particularly excited on certain blogs :)
I love bars and I love Milky Ways!! Too bad were not neighbors :(
I know! I would LOVE to donate it to you and your kids! Seriously with all my cooking, I have enough to feed a small army at any time :) I think I’ll see you at Big PL, right?!
OMG! I am in love with these! They look so yummy and I love the added coffee in them too! Perfect to wake up to!
That or the sugar, you’ll be wide awake :)
Dand girl! You are killing me! I dido what Sally said!
The first time you made these bars I went crazy and now I am going crazy all over again!! LOVE.
Pinned!
Thanks for the pin! :)
I am loving this gooey bar phase you are going through. And you’ve made SO many amazing chocolate recipes lately – the hot fudge, those Nutella PB Cookies, these gooey bars. Holy mackerol it’s like a chocolate/sugar dream around these parts lately. Well, it always is but recently I am just loving EVERYTHING Averie! The goo factor in these is making my head spin. And milky ways are, and always will be, one of my favorite candy bars! Guess what? I made a recipe yesterday using SNICKERS! Another favorite of mine. I bet these would be amazing with Snickers too. :) Oh! And the coffee in these? I’m dying. Perfect touch. I haven’t been drinking coffee as much after the fast but I will surely EAT it. ;) PINNING!
Thanks for the Pin! And I have quit coffee the past month since my cleanse! Have had 2 cups in a month!! I am doing so much better overall without the crash/burn/jittery/repeat. I love the taste but it’s not the best call for me. Sigh.
And chocolate. Well, after a year of cooking with PB, and now all kinds of other cooking that I’m doing, having a totally DIFFERENT flavor to work with, i.e. chocolate, has just sort of happened. But I realize, my blog has been highly chocolate-dominated lately. Oh well :)
I can totally see why this is your latest kick!!
I LOVE the Mlky Way version. I love that milky way dark, I bet that would be fantastic in this.
If I had those, I would have used them! I refuse to buy candy JUST to bake with though. I use what I’ve collected on various candy-holidays, V-Day, Halloween, old Easter candy, etc to try to thin out my stash! lol
I’m not lying, when I first saw this recipe I gasped a little bit. It looks divine. I need some in my life right now!
I love the gasp :)
I need one of these right now with my umpteenth cup of coffee! They look delicious, Averie!
Love these! One can never have enough chocolate recipes! Pinning!
thanks for the pin!
This gooey bar phase that you’re in – delicious (and inspired!). I’m seriously craving several of these bars right now, please!! :D
These bars look incredibly chewy, gooey, and delicious!
Your gooey bar phase is making me one very happy woman.
Your gooey bar phase is making me one very happy women.. :)
These are gorgeous! I think I could live on ooey-gooey bars like this. And the Milky Ways? FAB!
Oh my lordy!!
Gooey bars. that’s a phase I want to be a part of. These look and sound incredible!!!
I shouldn’t have read this so early in the morning. It’s barely 8:30 and now I’m craving one of these bars! Definitely pinning this one to make soon, Averie!
Thanks for the pin…chocolate cravings know no time of day :)
I’m all for a gooey bar phase :) Sounds like a good one! These bars look great. It’s so fun to work things like candy inti baked goods.
I know you can’t eat chocolate but carob maybe with another kind of candy bar that works for you.
I don’t bake bars and cookies because I don’t think I’m good at it. Your blog offers so many variants and great cookie recipes…makes everything look relatively easy and beautiful. OK, I’ve just have to pick one to start from… this one, with a lovely hint of coffee, is definitely one of my favorite!
they’re the easiest things ever – you just start layering stuff in a pan and it pretty much will work out…unlike cakes, brownies, or cookies that are soooo much fussier; bars are the most forgiving of all! :)
Oh yes, baking phases are wonderful for the baker, but not for the family;) Not in this case! I have an unhealthy obsession with peanut butter and those previous bars looked incredible and now you’ve added chocolate – I’m convinced there couldn’t be a better bar anywhere. I love bars (one batch and in the oven, unlike cookies) and this looks like the ultimate combo if chocolate, caramel, and gooey. My family would love it with Snickers. Averie, you rock!
Snickers is next on my agenda!
OMG…these bars sound so, so, so good! I wish I could have one right now…lol!
Averie, we’re all loving this bar phase you’re in too ;) Melty, chocolaty, count me in! I think its high time I made a cookie bar, and an easy one at that. I like your recipes because they only take under 30 mins- a total plus for me. I created a new lemon custard bar yesterday and it tastes great, but it was so darn fussy I’m not sure if its going on the blog. I know as a reader I’m happiest to see easy recipes- can always count on you for that. Thanks!
I loathe fussy recipes. Yeast bread is time-consuming but it’s downtime and it’s not fussy per se. These Nanaimo bars were fussy as all get-out and http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/10/nanaimo-bars.html they were a bucket list item for me but not enjoyable to make recipes like that for me. It takes the fun out of cooking. I feel the same way about the NYT Cookies http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/11/new-york-times-chocolate-chips-cookies-from-jacques-torres.html So fussy and the results are no where near as good as the super-simple recipe for choc chip cookies that I have. Sometimes fussy is worth it; rarely though can I justify it!
Funny you linked up the Nanaimo bars, I was thinking about those when I wrote the comment and went to read your post on them. Its true, so hard to justify when there are so many good 30 minute recipes out there where people would never know the difference!
People truly don’t know the difference. That is so true! Sadly some people would probably prefer boxed brownies to the more sophisticated taste of the N-Bars. So I try to keep it simple, within reason :)
I know what you mean about the baking phases. I’m recovering from a muffin baking craze, and jumping into cookies. Looks like you’re doing awesome with your bar baking streak! These look incredible. And I love that you add brewed coffee to the cookie dough, it does so much to intensify the flavor of chocolate baked goods. Well done!
You were all about the muffins there for awhile! I am excited to see cookies!
I love how you take an awesome base recipe and tweak it into something equally amazing! With a name like milky way chocolate cookie crumble bars, how could they not be incredible?! :)
It’s all about finding a base/ratio of ingredients and tweaking it. Helps me feel less like Im reinventing the wheel, every single recipe!
You are on fire Lady!!!
:) I try.
I haven’t tasted them but I’m in love with these too! I can tell just by the pictures that these bars were meant for me! I’m sure the peanut butter bars are fantastic, but these MilKy Way bars are pretty spectacular!
they’re both stellar in their own right!
Snickers are another great chocolate bar infusion in these! Droolworthy.
Oh I know. I grew up on them…like, tons. Love them. Need to bake more with them. Note to self :)
These sound so delicious! I was so obsessed with Milky Way bars in middle school…you are speaking to my inner 12 year old here! :) The addition of coffee is great- it always makes chocolate somehow taste more like chocolate!
Yes it does – just rounds out the flavors a bit!
The PB version looked incredible, but holy chocolate these look amazing! The coffee is a great touch. I saw Ina Garten use it chocolate cupcakes for that extra “little something” and did it myself for a while, then somehow forgot about it. I love re-discovering/being reminded of tips like that!
I always use coffee in my chocolate. It was to the point in my book, my editors were like Averie, you say this every time about using coffee in any choc recipe. I’m like yes, I know, it’s important that people don’t skip it:)
I’m definitely loving this gooey bar phase of yours too. These look so incredible.
Thanks, Kathryn! I wish I could share with you!
Now that’s an awesome way to get gooey chocolate caramel into a baked good. I know someone who would love these. Then again, who wouldn’t?! :D
Girl they are crazy good. So rich and gooey, and oh so good! :)