Billionaire Bars

Thanksgiving is jus around the corner! I LOVE Thanksgiving time, especially this year, because my family and I are traveling to Kentucky to see the Creation Museum, and then we are going to North Carolina until after Thanksgiving. My dad's family lives in Salisbury, NC, so that is where I will be shoving my face for the week. :)

I'm really excited, because my sister is on break from N.C. State University where she has a gymnastics scholarship (I'm so proud of her!). I miss my sister greatly and enjoy the time we have together.

The Thanksgiving atmosphere is incredible! A parade, football, family time, goofing off, turkey, all the women of the family cooking and baking together, and last, but certainly not least, the time we get to say what we are thankful for. We each go around the room and say one or two things we are thankful for. And for the day after Thanksgiving,  forget Black Friday shopping, I will be snuggling up in a blanket listening to Christmas music. my family's tradition regarding music is that we cannot listen to Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving. YAY!

Now, onto the actual reason for this post... ;) I was craving chocolate, and cookie dough, and shortbread, and more chocolate (a.k.a. I was craving calories to the max!). Billionaire Bars are delicious and absolutely worth those extra crunches and miles. I have no idea why they are called 'Billionaire' Bars. Maybe because they are worthy of the taste buds of a billionaire.

 

Topped with milk chocolate, filled with cookie dough, and all on top of shortbread, it is easy to see why these bars are so popular (not to mention yummy)!

 

 

 

Billionaire Bars

Ingredients:

For the Shortbread:

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened or melted

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

 

For the Cookie Dough:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp. heavy cream (if you don't have heavy cream, you can substitute half-and-half)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (you may need to add a little more until it acquires the 'cookie dough' consistency.)

Pinch of salt

1/2 -2/3 cup of chocolate chips (can also use mini chips)

 

For Chocolate Topping:

1 1/2 cup of milk chocolate

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on two sides.

2. Making the Shortbread. In a medium mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in vanilla and salt and beat until combined. add in flour and mix, dough may appear slightly crumbly. Firmly press into prepared pan. Poke sever shallow holes into the surface with a knife or fork. Bake 15-18 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges.

3. Making the Cookie Dough. In medium mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the heavy cream and vanilla; mix well. Add in the salt and flour (may need to add more flour) and mix until fully incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread the cookie dough layer evenly onto the shortbread once it has fully cooled. Refrigerate the pan while you prepare the chocolate topping.

4. Making the Chocolate Topping. This can be done several way. You can put the chocolate and butter in a bowl and melt them in the microwave, you can melt them in a pan on the stove, or you can simply melt them all in a chocolate melter. Melt until completely melted and smooth. Spread the chocolate topping over the cookie dough layer and chill until set, about 30 minutes. Enjoy the richness of it!

 

*Note: You are totally getting annoyed of this, I know, but please, please, PLEASE! Comment! I feel like these posts are just seen and I do put quite a bit of work into them. So if I could get any type of feedback that would be stellar!

 

~Enjoy! - Gabi xoxo~