I’m eating way too many of these bars while watching the Red Carpet and the Oscars. They’re so good, the bars. The Oscars, I’m sure will be long and drawn out. But I’ll watch the whole show anyway. And eat these bars–with Coffee Ice Cream!
This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking…From My Home to Yours, is Carmel Crunch Bars.
The bars were quick and easy to make and bake. The cookie base is a brown-sugar shortbread with finely chopped chocolate {I used semi-sweet}. The original recipe called for cinnamon. Because I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to grind cinnamon, I substituted cardamon. Plus I thought cardamon would pair well with the espresso powder {and Coffee Ice Cream!} and chocolate in the recipe.
Once the base is done baking, it is topped with more finely chopped chocolate {semi-sweet again} which melts for a couple minutes in the just-turned-off oven.
Instead of using Heath Toffee Bits for the topping, I chopped up some homemade Fleur de Sel Caramels I had left over from November’s Daring Bakers challenge. This created a nice caramely layer over the chocolate.
The Playing Around suggestion with this recipe is to make Caramel Crunch Ice Cream Bars. I love making {and eating!} ice cream, so of course I would take up the suggestion. I made Coffee Ice Cream! from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop. You can find the recipe here.
Thank you to Whitney of What’s left on the table? for selecting these absolutely wonderful bars. You can find the recipe on her blog. YUM!
Pink Stripes 
Your bars look delicious! I love that you used caramel for the topping. The ice cream also looks fantastic.
Ciao ! I love how you used your caramel leftovers !!
wow.. love the caramel topping and .. ICE CREAM !! yummy !!
dear Lord! Who ARE you? These look amazing.
Now that is an Oscar worthy dessert from top to bottom. I’ve yet to make fleur de sel caramel (I love the way the words just flow in the name alone), and I still haven’t made the Lebovitz coffee ice cream despite the fact that it is my favorite flavor. The combination of all of them together is inspired. You are so talented!
Girl I love love love coffee ice cream. My favorite! Your bars look wonderful. I also watched the oscars. . . just can’t keep my eyes off of Hugh Jackman! 🙂 Yes, I’m married, but I can still look.
looks great with that gooey caramel layer on top! and homemade ice cream is the best!!
It looks like anything by Dave Lebovitz paired perfectly with these crunch bars!!! I love the coffee ice cream, and your bars look absolutely gorgeous! Love that you used homemade caramels!
I just knew that you’d make something beyond fantastic out of these bars. In fact, I was wondering what it’d be while I was making them myself. I made DL’s coffee ice cream last summer — best coffee ice cream ever.
You sure went over the top with those bars, but they look absolutely delicious!
These look perfect, nice job! Mine were a bit crisp, but still tasty 🙂
You kicked these up a notch!! They look amazing!!
OK..two quick comments. One, great idea about using the fleur de sel caramels and using coffee ice cream. I am a big cardamom fan too. But…how did you possibly have leftover caramels from November? You have way more self control than I do!
Oh, boy, you are just AMAZING! I was thinking of adding dulce de leche to these, and then you go and make them with caramel! And cardamom! And fleur de sel! Yowza!
yum, yum, yum! that last photo with the perfect scoop of ice cream has me wishing it was summer and ice cream time!
A very nice use of caramel. Beautifully done.
You’ve taken a really good bar and made it fantastic! Love all of your touches (the homemade caramels look divine) – and coffee ice cream is the BEST flavor.
Nancy
Mmm, I love that you used cardamom and caramel in this recipe. It only made it sound even more enticing! I can’t wait to try these scrumptious bars for myself.
I love how you make ice cream every week! What a great ice cream sandwich. they look perfect!
I love the addition of caramel on top of the bars. Those look fantastic!
Oh my, those sound wonderful (minus the coffee, LOL). Way to get creative with those caramels. Yum!
You sinful, you! You put very, very bad intentions in my mind… LOL LOL
Hummm… now, for the coffee ice cream… (slurp!) LOL
Very well done, Pinkstripes!
Coffee ice cream?? GENIUS!! They look fantastic!
Mmmm!! Caramel and salt – yummy!! Love the pics, too! 🙂
Holy moly those look amazing!!!! I am impressed!
Oooh, these look so so good! I love the caramel topping, yum!
I got stuck at the point where you mention “leftover caramels.” Wow, I can’t imagine having leftover caramels! I lack the willpower!
I did the same thing . . used what I had. I ended up using butterscotch chips (not as fancy as your caramels) but it worked. So addictive, isn’t it?
We also watched the Oscars, too while snacking on crunch bars and ice cream. Life is good. 😉
mmmm—mmmmmm
Those caramels look like I need some.
Wendy, I love that you incorporated an “on hand” item which happened to be amazing into this recipe. I surely wish I could be a taster for you. yum. They look and sound by your description delicious. I love making ice cream too.
re: your comment, I love those tiny “sinless” little cookies. It does seem like that smallish amount of dough bakes and bakes forever , huh? They are warm and delicious with the addition of oatmeal, I think.
Yummy looking bars! And of course coffee ice cream is the perfect go with! I liked your use of cardamon, my favorite spice.
Oh snap. That’s all I have to say, oh snap. If you found one way to top heath bar chips, it is caramel. Nice, nice job.
Your version looks insanely good. For some reason, I don’t think that the leftover Kraft caramels I have from Halloween would create the same effect as your fleur de sel caramels!
Don’t you love it when you can use TWD leftovers and DB leftovers together. Yours look fantastic. I will HAVE to try these……
All I have to say is…..YUM!!!! I am jealous about the fleur de sel carmel. Oooh delish!
with coffee ice cream?!!? i want some!! great use of your caramels too. speaking of fleur de sel caramels, i need to make more
Ooh, the texture of the cookie in that first photo! And the carmel top, woah! Awesome!
oh my god ! très gourmandes tes barres ! très décadentes aussi 🙂
That nice substantial layer of caramel is amazing. What a smart and resourceful idea.
You have won my heart with coffee ice cream, I am yours. 😉
Now you have the RIGHT idea! You actually put the CARAMEL in these Caramel Crunch Bars! That looks fantastic…and with homemade coffee ice cream – out of this world!
Oh my those look good. I can just imagine how good coffee ice cream would be with these bars. Great thinking!
Oh man, I love the caramel on top. Maybe that would have saved mine! You always have the best ideas – you need to write your own cookbook!
WOWZA!! Cardamom! Homemade Caramels! Coffee Ice Cream! Holy moley! You rocked this recipe, girl!
I love what you did with the recipe. Great idea to put caramel as the top layer. And the coffee ice cream sounds fabulous!
Your version sounds and looks fantastic. Coffee ice cream would be soooo good with these bars!
Wow…very creative and lovely. It’s why I drop by every week…I always know that I will learn something, see something new, think in a new way, and drool over your photos! You never disappoint…great job!
I cant beleive you had some of those caramels leftover for that long!!! they are so good!! and your bars look fabulous too
WOW I bet the caramels on the top were amazing! (Not to mention the coffee ice cream…)
Homemade caramel and homemade ice cream – you’re so ambitious! And both aspects look great.
whoa…you really took it to a new level! Love your spin on these!! And I love red carpet watching too–and always make a better dinner/dessert on the “award” nights! (Emmys; Golden Globes; Oscars!)
Yum – now we’re talking! Love the caramel idea, not to mention the coffee icecream to take the edge off the sweetness.
you had me at the title of the post…. and then it just got better and better from there. 🙂 love your variations.
everything is better with Fleur de Sel Caramels!
Love the idea of these with coffee ice cream.
Real caramel bars! The caramel and the ice cream both sound fantastic!
Fleur….. what a GREAT idea! It IS hard to stop at just one, isn’t it? Your bars look fantastic, especially the photography. Nice work!
Love your riff on the recipe and the flavor combinations — WOW!!!!
Everything about your bars looks amazing! Love the caramels on top!
Amazing looking bar, and sounds utterly delicious too.
Cheers,
Elra
You totally rocked this dessert. I am amazed. I would have finished them off an hour into the Oscars. They look gorgeous!
Oh my goodness. Love your caramel layer. I would love that combination. Way to go!
Great adaptations AND you made ice cream?! You go girl!
~ingrid
I love what you did with these, from adding the cardamom to the caramels and ice cream! What a wonderful direction to take these in!
Great choice on using cardamom! Cardamom and coffee are classic together. Is there anything better than salt caramels? What a great addition to the tops of these cookies. They look great.
Now that’s a Caramel Crunch bar!! Fantastic!
Wow, the melted caramel looks fantastic. I totally want to make coffee ice cream now.
Be still my heart! Fleur de Sel caramels! What a brilliant idea! I’ll bet they were out of this world.
Oh they were dangerously good weren’t they? Yours look great… 🙂
I’m sure that cardamom would have been a nice touch. Yours look amazing, especially paired with homemade ice cream! A perfect Oscar night dessert!
Wow! These look great. And how did you not eat all those caramels?!?!? Excellent willpower!
Wow, you are my hero. Those look and sound simply amazing!
Whoa, that is waaaay too much awesomeness in one cookie. I cannot handle that much awesomeness, so kudos to you!
I really like the idea of using cardamom in these instead of the cinnamon. I liked the espresso powder, but wasn’t that thrilled with the cinnamon. And your caramels look delicious.
I really should have made some coffee ice cream to go along with these. Looks delicious!