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