Mars Bar Chunk Cookies

Last weekend was probably the most exhausting and exhilarating weekend I've had in a while!

Saturday was my first baking class with Chennai Food Guide and Crimson Chakra, and I had a blast with the 22 enthusiastic and super-fun participants who were there, ready to bake their hearts out! The day was really fun, but very tiring. The next day continued at the same pace with church and family obligations! Whew... I think I slept through most of Monday to recover from the weekend.

This morning, I woke up refreshed & raring to bake! I knew I had to get something in the oven because I could feel a craving coming on. I rummaged through my make-shift pantry and through the multitude of bags in there, and found just what I was looking for! Mars bars! Chewy, malty, chocolate-y and most importantly - caramel-y!

This recipe makes 6 giant or 8 regular sized cookies. I made giant cookies. And to make up for the fact that I was using sugar AND two whole candy bars in this recipe (well, ALMOST two bars - I did have to taste-test the candy bars to make sure they were not...umm... stale), I did substitute some of the all purpose flour with wheat flour, and added some oatmeal too. Now I don't have to feel so bad that I ate two of these giant cookies all by myself. So there!

Mars Bar Chunk Cookies
Adapted from the voices in my head
Ingredients
2 oz (55g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1 medium egg, cold
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup oatmeal
2 bars (51g each) Mars candy bars, chopped into chunks (I cut each bar into 16 pieces)

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and line a baking sheet/cookie sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.
2. Cream the butter along with the sugars until light.
3. Add the egg and continue to cream for about 1 minute.
4. Add the vanilla and mix well till incorporated - about 30 seconds.
5. Sift the flours, soda and salt together into the same bowl.
6. Stir just until combined and you see no traces of the dry ingredients.
7. Stir in the oatmeal and chopped candy bars.
8. Scoop the cookie dough onto the baking sheet, making sure you leave about 2 inches between each cookie.
9. Wet your fingers in clean water and slightly flatten each ball of dough. If you see any candy chunks peeking out the sides of the cookie, press them into the cookie. They tend to ooze and burn.
10. Bake for until the edges are starting to go golden brown - about 15-16 minutes for the large cookies. Reduce the time if you are making smaller cookies.
11. Transfer to a baking rack to cool & store (if you still have any left!) in an airtight jar.

I enjoyed these with a tall glass of iced tea, sitting out in my backyard. They were SO good. The cookie itself was soft, punctuated with these super chewy, caremel-y bits that WILL stick to your teeth.

OH. SO. GOOD! 

Now, that I've sufficiently satisfied your sweet tooths (teeth?), I am excited to share some news & updates with all of you!

First, you may or may not have noticed, but I have migrated to my own domain!!!! You are now visiting me in my new home, at www,theharriedcook.com! I am VERY excited about it, as you can see. If you find that silly, you'll probably be appalled that I am even more excited that I have a new email ID - marsha@theharriedcook.com. LOL :D Write to me!!!

Next up, the baking class went great and the next batch is going to happen in April! If you are in Chennai, and you are interested in getting a start in baking, you must sign up! I will announce the dates for the workshop soon on my Facebook page! :)

Finally, the calls have been rolling in! I've been getting quite a few people calling - some orders, some enquiries and even some people calling in for baking tips! Ha ha... It's been a hoot! Thanks y'all! :)

And it would be wrong if I ended this post without doing some shout outs!

A BIG thanks to Kimby of A Little Lunch for bestowing upon me 'The Versatile Blogger' award! Thanks, Kimby - I am honored and you're the best! Big hugs :)

I must add - I needed to desperately print business cards before the baking class, and my dear, sweet friend, Miss. Mouse, was such a big help - designing them for fussy ol' me who wanted 1247 changes in design, going back and forth to the printers and supporting me so much! I owe you, Miss. Mouse! I owe you big!

And I owe Mr. Mouse (a.k.a. Gecko) & Ms. Squirrel (of 'Oh Dakuwaqa!' fame - check out her cool comics!) for helping me sort out some site migration issues! You guys rock! I will bake you all a batch of these cookies!

See you all in April!

I entered these cookies in a BlogHop over at Deelicious Sweets! Here are the other entries :)