Caramel Bars
These are not your typical fancy dainty Christmas cookies. They’re called “bars,” but they are in fact a slice-and-bake cookie.
“The year I was married in 1975 my mother-in-law, Rita, gave me a dozen or so of her ‘family recipes’ written on 6-by-8-inch cards,” recalled Nancy Wojcicki of Waukesha. “We have made these cookies every year at Christmas: 41 years. The original goes back several generations.
“When my mother-in-law passed away in 2001, I inherited her “vintage” (1965) KitchenAid K5-A mixer (still works!), which eliminated the effort required to stir the dough by hand for dozens of cookies.”
Placing an almond (alternatively, a pecan half) in the center of each cookie before baking is a tradition. “Otherwise the cookies would look pretty plain for the holidays,” Wojcicki said. “One year about 20 years ago I ran out of almonds halfway through baking. My kids made quite a fuss, as they didn’t look right to them.”
The brown sugar cookies do indeed taste caramel-y. Cream of tartar and baking soda make them rise a little bit.
“Everyone I’ve given them to likes them,” she said.
Makes about 9 dozen large cookies
1 1⁄4 cups (2 1⁄2 sticks) butter, room temperature
4 cups packed brown sugar
5 eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
8 cups flour
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon baking soda
9 dozen whole almonds or pecan halves
In a large bowl, beat butter with brown sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, cream of tartar and baking soda and thoroughly combine.
Line three 7 1⁄2-by-3-inch loaf pans with wax paper. Divide dough into three even parts and press each into one lined pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Remove dough bricks from pans and slice into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Place a whole almond or pecan half in middle of each slice. Bake in preheated oven 10 to 12 minutes. Cookies will puff up slightly but will not spread; they will be lightly browned when done.
Note: Recipe can be cut in half.