Cookie COUNTDOWN Day 5

Are ya cookie'd out yet?

Today marks the official first day of my 

Christmas Cookie baking.

I always kick it off with THIS special recipe

because today is my daughter's Birthday, 

and she'd rather have a whole panful of these

than a Birthday cake!

It's a special recipe from a friend of mine

who grew up in South Africa.

The only ingredient that might throw you for a loop is

this:

Golden Syrup.  

Very important!

It's lighter than Dark Karo syrup, 

but in a pinch, you can substitute it with Dark Karo.

First off you make the yummy crust...

(very similar to yesterday's White Cookies!)

Pat it all nicely in a pan and pop it in the oven

at 350 degrees until golden. 

About 15-20 mins

Meanwhile...make the caramel.

YUM!

Mix butter, sugar and Golden syrup in a saucepan

and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

While it boils, stir in 1 can of sweetened condensed milk

and continue to stir another 5 minutes.

Making sure to scrape the bottom to keep it from burning.  

You may get small burnt bits, but that's okay.

After the five minutes more of stirring, it should be a 

yummy thick looking caramel!  

Pour on hot crust and spread.

(probably should keep a bit on the bottom of the pain to 

taste test after it cools!)

Let the caramel cool completely.

I actually put mine out in the garage, er, fridge to hasten the process.

When it's nice and cooled off...

Melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips in 

a glass bowl in the microwave stirring after 

each 30 second interval

Then spread the chocolatey goodness right on top of the cooled caramel shortbread.

Is your mouth watering yet?

Oh. My.

Now let the chocolate set.  My daughter loves

it when they're VERY cold.  

Last year she kept her "Birthday Pan" in the 

fridge out in the garage and everyone but her 

forgot about them. It took her a whole month, but 

she polished off the entire pan!

(she's a little skinny thing too....

I think my hips balloon just lookin' at 'em!)

So finally...

Cut and DEVOUR!

Here's the full recipe:

In between cooking and cooling time....you know, while you're impatiently waiting.  How about some last minute holiday shopping?? Have you checked out the OUTLET section in our shop? All patterns $2 and fabric $5 per/yd!  If you shop during the hop, leave us a note  letting us know you're one of our blog hoppers and we might just throw in a surprise with  your order! 'Tis the season, after all....