Ever wondered what to do with all those leftover Halloween chocolate bars? Me neither. That’s never been a problem at our house. But I have often found myself in the mood for chocolate chip cookies but with no chocolate chips in my cupboard. Lucky for me, I’ve made a habit of picking most of the Snickers and Reese’s chocolate bars from my kids’ Halloween haul and hiding them in secret locations around the kitchen. Chocolate bars make excellent substitutes for chocolate chips — especially the ones with caramel and peanut butter in them. The chocolate bars melt into the dough as they bake, so you end up with cookies filled with chocolate-peanut butter-caramel deliciousness.

Looking for more chocolate chip cookie recipes? Check out my recipe for The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups chopped assorted chocolate bars and candy (I like to use Snickers, Mars, Reese’s and caramels)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and coat baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray or line with silicone baking mats.
2. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a handheld mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar.
3. Add the egg, vanilla and maple syrup. Mix until fully combined.
4. Next, add the flour, baking soda and salt.
5. Mix in the chopped chocolate pieces.
6. Roll into balls and place on prepared baking sheets. Refrigerate entire baking sheet for 15 minutes.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not overbake if you want the cookies to stay soft and chewy!

*Yield: 20-22 cookies