Espresso Chip Cookie Dough Bars

A few weeks back, my mom and I went on a bakery tour in Austin when I was there for the BlogHer Food conference. One of the bakeries I went to was called Delish and they had a fabulous millionaire bar. The bar consisted of a shortbread crust layered with cookie dough, caramel and chocolate. As soon as I tasted it, I knew I wanted to make my own version at home. I had a few leftover boxes of Walkers Shortbread Cookies so it was the perfect opportunity to try something.

My version of the “millionaire bar” has a shortbread crust, made with a mixture of Walkers Shortbread cookies, and is layered with espresso chip cookie dough then topped with an espresso infused chocolate ganache. I am kinda falling in love with the espresso chip cookie dough. There are no chocolate chips in the bar. The flavor all comes from ground up chocolate covered espresso beans. I love using Walkers Shortbread because it creates the perfect buttery base for this recipe.

Shortbread Cookie Base

2 cups Shortbread crumbs

1/2 C Butter, melted

• Preheat oven to 350
• Use a food processor to grind shortbread cookie into fine crumbs.
• In a separate bowl, melt butter in microwave for 20-39 seconds until melted.
• Combine shortbread crumbs and melted butter in an 8″ by 8” pan and mix with a spoon until combined. Gently press mixture into the bottom of the pan.
• Bake for 12-15 minutes until shortbread starts to turn light brown. Allow to cool completely.

Espresso Chip Cookie Dough
Adapted from thecupcakeproject
Yields 9 Large Bars

2/3 C Chocolate covered espresso beans

1/2 C Butter, melted

1 C Packed brown sugar

1 C Sugar

2 1/4 C Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tbsp Pure vanilla extract

1/4 C Milk

• Use a food processor to grind chocolate covered espresso beans into small pieces. Set aside.
• Melt butter in microwave for 20-30 seconds until fully melted.
• Combine melted butter with light brown sugar and white sugar. Blend for 3-4 minutes until well mixed.
• Add flour and salt just until combined, mixture will become thicker.
• Add vanilla extract and milk; mix into dough and add espresso chips last.
• Empty cookie dough onto cooled shortbread crust and pat down evenly.

Espresso ganache

6 oz Dark chocolate chips

4 tbsp Heavy cream

2 tsp Boiling water

2 tsp Espresso powder

• Combine chocolate chips and heavy cream in a heatproof bowl.
• Place heatproof bowl on top of a pot of simmering water.
• Heat for several minutes until chocolate starts to melt.
• Use a spatula to stir chocolate and cream until smooth. Remove from heat.
• Combine 2 teaspoons of boiling water with 2 tsp of espresso powder and stir until espresso powder is dissolved. Pour mixture into chocolate ganache.
• Mix into chocolate ganache until combined.
• Pour mixture over cookie dough and spread evenly over dough. Allow the ganache to set and harden at least an hour. You can refrigerate to speed up the process.

I suggest to keep these bars refrigerated to prevent the chocolate ganache from melting in warm temperatures. Remove from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving. It will allow you to be able to cut them easier and soften them enough to melt in your mouth with every bite.

This post is linked up at Marvelous Mondays Party!

Walkers Shortbread provided me with free samples of these cookies to review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. I was not compensated for this post.

Here are some other desserts you might like:

Deep Fried Cookie Dough

Chocolate Shortbread Mousse Parfaits 

Mudslide Poke Cake