TWD: Salted Chocolate-Caramel Bars

Slump (geological):  a form of mass wasting that occurs when a coherent mass of loosely consolidated materials moves a short distance down a slope.

Have you ever had a week where everything you bake isn't quite 100%?  That's been my week so far (and it's only Monday night).

My second cookie for March was the Salted Chocolate-Caramel Bars.  Easy to do.

 I was very organized, having chopped, toasted, softened, measured, prepped.  As soon as I walked in the door from errands and lunch out, I turned on the oven and began to create.  By the time I had to leave again, the cookies were totally finished, cooling on the counter.

Upon my return (once again), I checked the caramel, which was still fairly soft, so I put the pan into the refrigerator.

Somewhere along the line, the pan was slightly tipped over.  Much to my horror, I discovered that the caramel topping had shifted, moving en masse to the other side of the pan.  Slump.  (see above)  Well, I thought, I'll just tip the pan the opposite way, and the caramel will re-place itself.  Sigh.  I waited too long (slow as molasses it was).  The topping had indeed reversed, going all the way to the other side of the pan.  By now, the topping had warmed up considerably, so I manually played with the pan, tipping it this way and that, watching as the caramel oozed its way across the cookie base, and stopping when it had successfully settled into an even layer.  Back into the fridge it went, on a definite flat surface this time, with no chance of being dislodged.

I did manage to sneak a piece, spreading some of the wayward caramel over the top.  Nice and chocolate-y.

This recipe can be found in Dorie's Cookies on pages 42-44.  Take a look at what the other bakers did this week by going to the Tuesdays with Dorie blog.