Coco Pops Caramel Cookie Squares

I have a friend who claims to hate that beautiful cereal milk you get at the end of the bowl... 

This horrifies me to my very core and it’s never far from my mind. I’ve wanted to incorporate it in some way into something for months now and I think it’s about time I shared this with you all. 

I’d like to formally introduce you to coco pops caramel cookie squares.

 I’ve done a lot of experimenting to get to this point and I am very happy with them. The cookie base has a cake/brownie like texture and is topped with a soft and chewy caramel with that coco pops cereal milk taste that hits during and lingers after you eat it... a pairing that is an absolute delight for the tastebuds. 

I tried the cookie recipe with melted butter and room temperature butter, while the taste is almost identical the texture of the room temperature hits just a little different, it had the softer cake like texture I wanted and it kept better with time than the melted butter cookie.

Top is melted butter.

Bottom is room temperature butter.

I tried soaking the coco pops whole in condensed milk and then strained it and for another batch I blended coco pops to a powder and let it soak in condensed milk, leaving the powder in.

Both had that cereal milk taste I wanted but the strained one was a lot more work with a completely smooth outcome while the blended coco pops had a slightly stronger flavour while having that little grit from the blended coco pops and it gave that feeling of actually having a bowl of cereal, you know the good bowl at the very end when you get all the powder that’s fallen to the bottom of the bag?! Definitely the winner for me!! 

Enough talking, let’s get to the recipe! This is actually a very easy recipe to follow and relatively quick once you have everything weighed out and ready to go. I hope you like it and let me know if you have any questions or suggestions if you give it a try! 

Coco pops CARAMEL squares recipe

⏲ PREP TIME: 20-30 minutes

⏲ BAKE TIME:25-30 minutes

⏲ REST TIME: 4-12 hours

🍪 SERVINGS: 46

EquipmeNt

• 9x9 square baking tin

• stand mixer/hand mixer

• mixing bowls

• weighing scale

• sieve

• chopping board

• sharp knife

• spatula

• measuring spoons

ingredients

cookie base

• 180g all purpose flour

• 10g cornstarch

• 5g baking soda

• 1.5g salt

• 112g/1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)

• 15g/1 tbsp vanilla extract

• 100g dark brown sugar

• 50g granulated sugar

• 1 large egg (room temperature)

• 1 large egg yolk (room temperature)

• 110g chocolate

Coco pops caramel

• 80g coco pops blended

• 14oz sweetened condensed milk

• 28g/2 tbsp unsalted butter

• 160g granulated sugar

• 7.5g/ 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

• 15ml heavy cream

Chocolate top *optional

• 50g semi-sweet chocolate

• 50g milk chocolate

• 5g vegetable oil

Instructions

1.

Preheat your oven to 350°F, 180°C. Line your 9 x 9 square baking tin with parchment paper and set aside.

2.
Pulse your Coco Pops in a blender or food processor until like dust. You want them to look like the delicious bits left in the bottom of your cereal bag.

3.
Add your condensed milk to the Coco Pops, mix through and set aside for 20 minutes and up to two hours to soak. This will help infuse the milk with the coco pops flavour, delicious!

4.
Prepare your cookie dough base while your Coco Pops are soaking.

Weigh out and sieve your flour, baking soda, corn starch and salt into a large bowl, mix and set aside.

5.
Cream your butter and sugars in a stand mixer until pale, light and creamy.

6.
Add your vanilla extract, your egg and your egg yolk and mix through.

7.
With your mixer on low, add your flour mix 1 tablespoon at a the time, mixing until just combined.

8.
Chop up your favourite chocolate bar or mix of two, add to the stand mixer and mix until evenly the combined.

9.
Add your cookie dough mix to your baking tin and even it out, pushing it into all of the edges using a spatula and/or the back of a tablespoon. Put into the fridge until your caramel is ready.

Coco pops caramel

1.

Add your butter to a heavy-based saucepan and melt on low.

2.
When butter is almost melted add your coco pops condensed milk, vanilla extract, and sugar and mix through.

3.
Keep heat on low/medium, constantly stirring to make sure it doesn’t burn. You want your sugar to fully dissolve and your caramel to be velvety smooth with a decent colour. It’ll take a few minutes so be patient.

4.
Turn off the heat, stir in your heavy cream and add caramel to your cookie base, spreading it out evenly.

5.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges are starting to brown and the middle is set but still soft. Caramel will continue to set and firm as it cools.

6.
Once the caramel has cooled completely put into the fridge for 4 hours and up to over night before cutting.

Chocolate top optiOnal*

This can be done before refrigeration if you want to cover all of the squares or after they have been sliced if you would like to do half and half. I prefer to do half, I know it seems crazy but some people don’t like the chocolate top! It’s always best to be a crowd pleaser!

1.

Chop and add your chocolate to a microwave safe bowl with a teaspoon of vegetable oil and heat for 60-90 seconds, mixing at 20 second intervals, stopping when the chocolate is nice and smooth.

2.
If covering the entire top just pour chocolate over your caramel before putting into the fridge, making sure that it’s completely even with a spatula or back of a spoon.

If you’re only doing some of the squares then wait until you’ve cut the cookie caramel. Using a teaspoon scoop, pour chocolate over an individual square, pushing it to the corners letting it drip down.

3.
Place squares onto a cooling rack and let them set before indulging, tasting one or two to make sure the chocolate is right, of course!