Tuesday 14 April 2015

Dulce de leche choc chip cookies for the end of the holidays

After Easter lunch my mum sorted out the leftovers and told me she was throwing out the remains of the filling she made for the caramel tart.  I couldn't bear to see the luscious creamy dreamy caramel go to waste so I volunteered to take it.  Then, like my mum, I wondered what on earth I would do with it.  We have had enough chocolate and hot cross buns over Easter.  Decadent caramel chocolate concoction seemed just too much.  But perhaps a few choc chip cookies to use up Easter eggs would be alright.

The biscuits were not as indulgent as last year's leftover chocolate easter egg slice.  However I confess that yet again, I stashed away some eggs especially (eggspecially) for baking.  There is something so much more fun about baking with colourful chocolate.  Even better, when I started to chop up the little M and M easter eggs, I found they had crispy insides. 

I looked around at choc chip cookie recipes and ideas for adding dulce de leche.  Most recipes are for biscuits stuffed with dulce de leche in the middle but I really liked the recipe at Mind Over Batter that mixed it into the batter for extra flavour.  I had so many white chocolate melts leftover from the Easter egg chicks that I was generous with the salt in an effort to avoid them being overwhelmingly sweet.

I used a favourite condensed milk choc chip cookies recipe that I have often made with leftover condensed milk.  It was easy, eggless and smelled amazing while the biscuits were baking.

As mentioned at the top of the post, we have feasted on enough Easter chocolate and hot cross buns to last us a lifetime.  Most of these cookies went straight into the freezer to be eaten occasionally when we need a sweet snack.  They last so much longer that way.

The other reason I wanted to bake these biscuits is that I thought they would be good for the school lunchbox.  Sylvia has delighted in hoarding a little stash of Easter eggs that she received.  Yet when I put a cookie in her lunch box on the first day of school term yesterday she told me told me she would much prefer ANZAC biscuits.  Kids!

And with the end of the school holidays I will leave you with some photos and words to sum up the fun we had: the zoo, autumn leaves, Easter, weaving, craft, play dates, cinema, sleepovers, monkey bars, cousins, Phoenix park, bike rides, friends, queues, playgrounds, dolls, swimming, chocolate, baking.


I am sending this recipe that rescued the caramel to Elizabeth's Kitchen for the No Waste Food Challenge.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: Red peppers: in pasta bake, stuffed and in soup
Two year ago: NCR Smoky spicy tomato soup
Three years ago: Zucchini Layer Cake plus random thoughts
Four years ago: NCR Tricken Rice Soup with Celeriac
Five years ago: Honest soup inspired by a Farmers Market
Six years ago: Tupperware, Arran and Tomato Soup
Seven years ago: Family Favourite: Chocolate Pudding

Chocolate chip cookies with dulce de leche
Adapted from this recipe on Green Gourmet Giraffe
Makes about 48 cookies

180g butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup dulce de leche
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 cups self raising flour
300-350g assorted chopped chocolate/Easter eggs/choc chips

Cream butter and maple syrup.  Beat in dulce de leche and salt.  Gently mix in flour then chocolate.  Drop heaped teaspoons on baking paper lined oven trays.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until just starting to turn golden brown on the edges.  Rest 5 to 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool (I keep them on the baking paper while cooling). 

On the Stereo:
Excuses for Travellers: Mojave 3

11 comments:

  1. Nice idea, they look very cute.

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  2. Fun! What pretty cookies =)

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  3. I don't like wasting things too so it's great when you can repurpose things for another delicious use!

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    1. Thanks Lorraine - it is great to find a way to use them up (and a reason for my mother to give me caramel sauce)

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  4. I have a real soft spot for cookies with fun 'bits' in them so these sound great to me. I giggled at your eggspecially term too :-)

    I love that playground in your final collage. Is it at the zoo (top left photo)?

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    1. Thanks Kari - so pleased you enjoyed the eggspecially - I used to read kids jokey stuff with that sort of writing as a kid and it still amuses me. The playground is at Phoenix Park out by Chadstone Shopping Centre - we went there with a friend who lives out that way and it was such a lovely place with a great cafe

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  5. I don't know how you fit it all in..... your energy always seems endless!
    As for the cookies.... Love the use of caramel..... and they look so pretty.... how could your daughter think Anzac biscuits were better???

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    1. Thanks Kate - the holidays were so busy that we really appreciated the days that we just spent at home taking it easy - easter being in the middle really made them fly by. But sadly my energy is not endless - I just wish it was. And i agree with you about Anzac biscuits

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  6. Good save on the dulce de leche, that would have been an absolute sin to throw it out ;) Fantastic recipe for the no wast food challenge.

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    1. Thanks Sara - I agree - couldn't bear to see my mum throw it out - she boils the condensed milk in the tin to do this and it seems so much work to make it and then throw some out (or maybe just so much culinary dare devilry as it always makes me a bit worried they will explode!)

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  7. I can't believe that lovely caramel was going to end up in the bin! Great save!! :D These look really scrummy, thank you for sharing with the no waste food challenge :)

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