Accidental Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark
I wish I had a really captivating story about this very unintentional and unexpected cookie bark but like many of my kitchen mishaps, I had been in the kitchen for far too long, staring at a sink full of dishes and racing the clock to midnight. I had been baking for most of the day and as my eyes grew tired and I shifted to autopilot mode, I misread my go-to recipe for crispy chocolate chip cookies. There’s something about a big, crinkly chocolate chip cookie that melts in your mouth and in your hands-so good! I was making these by request for my husband since his birthday was a couple days away. Anyhow, I followed the recipe or so I thought, placed the baking sheet in the oven and waited. A few minutes before my timer went off, I thought about how it smelled incredibly good in the kitchen and how the butter had been much more fragrant than usual. Ding. I opened the oven and holy spread!
I couldn’t believe that my cookies were one giant sheet of cookie. I pulled the sheet from the oven and placed it on my stovetop thinking about the wasted ingredients (hello, have you seen the price of eggs and butter lately-oof!). I let the cookie spread cool and I just decided I was done for the night. My inner perfectionist began to dominate my inner dialogue. This must have been my biggest mistake since the Molasses Spice Cookies and why do these things always happen during chaotic times like the Holidays? I covered the baking sheet and went upstairs to bed. I’ve worked so hard over the years to not beat myself up when things don’t go as expected and this is also a part of baking and recipe development. Mistakes will happen so I laid in bed and thought of ways I could possibly reconstruct the disaster sitting downstairs in my kitchen.
Cookie bark! While not the most original idea (cookie bark or cookie brittle recipes very much exist) the texture of what I baked was perfect for such a thing. The next morning, I thought that I should make the bark festive by decorating it with some chocolate drizzle, sprinkles, marshmallow cream and marshmallows. A perfect Christmas treat! I cut up the pieces and my husband and I each grabbed a piece and took a bite. Unbelievable. What a fantastic turnaround for this late-night baking boo-boo. From near monstrosity to masterpiece, this is a recipe I’m going to now make each year at Christmas.
Here’s where I’m going to sell you on making this delicious chocolate chip cookie bark:
Not only does it take amazing, but it’s also super easy to make! It’s really a pour and stir recipe, which I love, and it doesn’t take long to make at all. It’s a simple treat to bring to any party or event and can feed a crowd. This is an indulgent treat so one to two pieces per person should be enough.
Children will like it and it’s easy to involve them in the process of making it. Dress it up with sprinkles, more chocolate or leave it plain, it’s delicious!
Unlike other cookie bark or brittle recipes out there, the texture is perfect because it's nice and thin as you would imagine a bark to be, but it still holds a firm shape.
Some pointers for making this bark:
-No molasses? Try maple syrup instead and if you don’t have either substitute the two tablespoons for ¼ cup dark brown sugar.
-After melting the butter, it should be cooled down a bit but doesn’t have to be entirely room temperature
-Use chopped chocolate pieces for this recipe as the chopped chocolate will help the batter to spread further. Chocolate chips may work but will not spread as evenly throughout.
Use parchment paper! It will help lift the bark from the pan when its time to cut or break it into pieces.
-When I first made this recipe, I scooped my batter into balls on the baking sheet (about 4 tablespoons) and you can try this as well however the batter will spread anyhow so save yourself the step and just pour it onto the tray!
-Once my cookie bark cooled, I topped mine with a drizzle of melted chocolate and marshmallow cream. I added some mini chocolate chips, festive Christmas sprinkles and mini marshmallows. I sprinkled it with some powdered sugar for an added touch of winter whimsy.
LET'S GET BAKING!
Recipe for Accidental Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark
INGREDIENTS
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 sticks butter, melted
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons milk or cream
4-ounce bar 60% or higher chocolate, chopped
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, molasses, and milk. Slowly add flour mixture, folding in using a spatula until fully combined. Add chopped chocolate to cookie batter and stir, just to combine.
Line two standard cookie sheets (12 or 13 by 18) with parchment paper and pour cookie batter evenly onto baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes until the outer edges are crisp and bark is slightly bubbly throughout. Allow to cool completely before decorating or adding toppings. Cut or break into 1-to-2-inch sized pieces.