Quick and Easy, Mascarpone Chocolate Cookie Bars

Longing for something chocolaty and decadent?  Of course you are.  These Mascarpone Chocolate Cookie Bars are ripped off, I mean “inspired” by Giada’s Mascarpone Chocolate Toffee Bars and they are addicting.  I mean it…seriously addicting.  My father took a few for the road after Joe’s birthday party.  The next day he called to ask if I would deliver some additional chocolate cookie bars to the house – apparently he needed his “fix”.  Sadly, he was out of luck…I had just devoured the last one. 

I adapted Giada’s recipe slightly, simply because I couldn’t find one of the key ingredients – the old school Skor Bar.  Remember the Skor Bar?  Made by Hershey’s, it was a combination of tooth shattering toffee covered in an extremely thin layer of chocolate.  I don’t know why, but the Skor Bar seems so 80’s to me now – maybe because that is when they were at their peak of popularity.  Now you can’t seem to find them – at least not where I live.  

To keep with the toffee chocolate theme of the recipe, I purchased another Hershey’s product instead of the Skor, a bag of Hershey’s Nuggets. They consist of both chocolate,  toffee pieces and almonds without the risk of a trip to the dentist.  They worked well in the recipe, perhaps even better than the Skor would have done; the bars ended up  more chocolaty – and I love chocolate!

Mascarpone Chocolate Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1 pound refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 2 (1.4-ounces) chocolate-toffee candy bars, coarsely chopped, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used Hershey’s semi sweet)
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup honey roasted sliced almonds

Directions:

1.) Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.) Spray a 7 by 10 3/4-inch nonstick baking pan with vegetable cooking spray. Lay a 6 by 18-inch piece of parchment paper in the pan, allowing the excess paper to overhang the sides. Spray the parchment paper lightly with cooking spray.

3.) In a medium bowl, combine the cookie dough, 1/2 of the chopped chocolate-toffee candy pieces and vanilla extract. Using damp fingers, gently press the dough into the prepared pan. Using the tines of a fork, prick the dough all over. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until the crust is lightly browned. Cool for 15 minutes.

4.) Place the chocolate chips and vegetable oil in a medium bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted. Cool the chocolate mixture for 10 minutes. Whisk in the mascarpone cheese until the mixture is smooth. Using a spatula, spread the chocolate mixture over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate-toffee candy pieces and sliced almonds over the chocolate mixture. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until the chocolate layer is firm.

5.) Peel off the parchment paper and cut into 1 1/2 by 2-inch bars. Serve at room temperature.

Admit it...you want one now.