HONEYCOMB COOKIE BARS

Americans are all about the cookie bar. We’ve taken this up a level by adding honeycomb.

INGREDIENTS

• 100g unsalted butter
• 2 tbs caster sugar
• 75g brown sugar
• 1 1/3 cups (200g) plain flour
• 1/3 cup (40g) malted milk powder (from supermarkets)
• 1/4 tsp each baking powder and bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 egg
• 100g dark chocolate chips
• 50g cacao nibs

Nut crumb

• 1/4 cup (90g) honey
• 50g unsalted butter, chopped
• 1 cup (70g) shredded coconut
• 1 cup (100g) walnuts, chopped

Honeycomb

• 1 cup (220g) caster sugar
• 1/2 cup (180g) honey
• 11/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, sifted

• METHOD

  • 1
    Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm x 30cm lamington pan and line with baking paper, leaving some overhanging.
  • 2
    To make the base, place butter, sugars, flour, malted milk powder, baking powder and bicarb in a bowl. Using your fingertips, rub butter into dry ingredients until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add vanilla, egg, chocolate chips, cacao nibs and 1 tsp salt, and stir to combine. Press into base of prepared pan and bake for 15-16 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven.
  • 3
    Meanwhile, for the nut crumb, place the honey and butter in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until melted and bubbling. Add the coconut and walnuts, and stir to combine. Spread over the cookie base and return to oven for 8 minutes or until golden. Remove and set aside.
  • 4
    For the honeycomb, place the sugar, honey and 1/4 cup (60ml) water in a large, deep saucepan over medium-low heat and stir to dissolve sugar. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Cook, without stirring, for 5 minutes or until deep golden and it reaches 154°C on a sugar thermometer. Remove from the heat and allow bubbles to subside. Working quickly, add bicarb, stirring with a wooden spoon to combine (honeycomb will foam). Pour honeycomb over the warm cookie slab, being careful not to overfill pan. Set aside to cool completely.
  • 5
    When cool, cut into bars and serve.

  • NOTES

    -

    You will need a sugar thermometer.