Salted Caramel M&M Cookie Bars

Equipment

• Rolling Pin / Pestle and Mortar (to crush Salted Caramel M&Ms)
• Sharp Knife (to cut the Chocolate Bar, if not using Chocolate Chips)
• Spoon
• 2 Small Bowls
• Large Bowl
• 8"x8" Tin
• Parchment Paper
• Cooling Rack

Ingredients

• 135g Unsalted Butter - room temperature
• 110g Soft Light Brown Sugar
• 275g Self Raising Flour
• 3 tablespoons Cornflour
• 2 tablespoons Golden Syrup
• 1-2 tablespoons Milk - I used semi-skimmed!
• 100g Milk Chocolate Chips or Milk Chocolate Bar
• 200g Salted Caramel M&Ms
• 200g Carnation Caramel - or homemade caramel!
• 1 teaspoon Sea Salt

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180C (350F) standard / 160C (320F) fan. Grease and line an 8"x8" inch baking tin with parchment paper. Cut your chocolate in to chunks If you’re using a milk chocolate bar rather than milk chocolate chips. Crush your salted caramel M&Ms (using a rolling pin or pestle and mortar). Stir the salt in to your caramel.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Stir in the golden syrup, flour, cornflour, and crushed M&Ms and milk chocolate (save some milk chocolate and M&Ms for decoration).
4. Add 1-2 tablespoon of milk as required to loosen the mixture (you should have a firm sticky cookie dough).
5. Press and flatten half of the cookie dough in to the lined baking tin. Spread on the salted caramel in an even layer, then add the remaining cookie dough mix on top. Press the remaining M&Ms and chocolate chips in to the cookie dough as decoration.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden and the surface of the cookie bar looks set/loses its shine. - The longer you bake the less gooey the cookie will be, so time according to your preference.
7. Leave in the tin until fully cooled, then slice and enjoy!

Notes

• - These cookies are best eaten fresh on the day they're made, however they will keep well for 3-4 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
• - Add the milk a little at a time, as a little goes a long way; the mixture should be loose but firm.
• - For double chocolate cookie bars: use 225g of self-raising flour and 45g of cocoa powder and increase the butter to 150g. You may also find that you need to add an extra tablespoon of milk to loosen the mixture.
• - I've used milk chocolate, but dark or white chocolate would also be nice!