Leftover-Lofthouse Gooey Bars

Until yesterday, I'd never met a 'leftover' cookie. Any cookies that turn up in our house usually fulfill their delicious destiny pretty quickly. Occasionally, a handful will be saved 'for later,' and one or two might be set aside for a special occasion, but they pretty much always get eaten and they're never, ever 'leftover'...until yesterday.

You see, yesterday I bought my first package of Lofthouse sugar cookies. That's right, my first ever. The truth is, I like baking cookies so much that I almost never buy them. Of course, that doesn't mean that those pillowy sugar cookies, spread thickly with colorful icing have never piqued my interest. So, when I saw some that had been festively decked out for St. Patrick's Day, I snapped them right up.

I carried them home, all excited for the first bite...and I have to admit, it was a bit of a letdown. I'm sure I won't be popular for saying this - I know lots of you love, love, love them - but maybe Lofthouse cookies just aren't my thing? The flavor was nice - super-sweet and sugary - but I'm a gooey, chewy cookie girl and these cookies were just a little too cakey.

After I'd polished off the first one, I still had nine more cookies on my hands: my first ever leftover cookies. I suppose I could have left them all for Matt, but instead I racked my brain for a way to make them chewy, and came up with these gooey bars.

A thin sugar cookie base, covered with crumbled sugar cookies and topped with sweetened condensed milk (and an optional sprinkling of white chocolate chips). Can it get any sweeter? You can use pre-made sugar cookie dough for the base, or substitute your favorite recipe - it's really just a vehicle for the best part of these bars: the way the Lofthouse frosting crisps up during baking. A little goes a long way with these, though, so cut them up small!

Leftover Lofthouse Gooey Bars


For Crust:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, in cubes
3-5 Tablespoons cold water
OR 1/2 package refrigerated cookie dough (if you use this, you can skip Step 1)

For Filling:
8-10 Lofthouse iced sugar cookies, crumbled
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk, divided
1/4 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 8x8-inch square baking pan. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour and powdered sugar. Cut butter cubes into the flour mixture using a fork or a pastry cutter (if you have a food processor, you can use that too!), until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water 1 Tablespoon at a time, stirring until the mixture just comes together (I like to use my hands for this step - just make sure you don't overwork the dough).

2. Spread the dough evenly in the prepared baking pan. Bake until just golden, about 18-20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

3. Top crust with half of the crumbled cookies. Drizzle with 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk. Top with remaining cookies and drizzle with the remaining 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk. If desired, top with sprinkles and white chocolate chips. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the edges begin to turn golden. Allow to cool before serving. Cut into small squares - a little goes a long way!

This post has been shared at:

Brassy Apple: Make it Monday - Craft-O-Maniac: Craft-O-Maniac Monday - Skip to My Lou: Made by You Monday - The Southern Institute: Creative Me Monday - Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms: Melt in Your Mouth Monday - i should be mopping the floor: Mop it Up Mondays - Mrs. Happy Homemaker: Makin' You Crave Monday - Crazy for Crust: Crazy Sweet Tuesday - Today's Creative Blog: Get Your Craft On - Home Stories A to Z: Tutorials and Tips Tuesday - Topsy Turvy Tuesdays - 33 Shades of Green: Tasty Tuesdays - A Bowl Full of Lemons: One Project at a Time - Funky Polkadot Giraffe: Too Cute Tuesday - Sugar Bee Crafts: Take a Look Tuesday - Hope Studios: Tutorial Tuesday - Ginger Snap Crafts: Wow Me Wednesday - JAQS Studio: Made by Me - Blue Cricket Design: Show and Tell - Clean & Scentsible: The Creative Spark - Southern Lovely: Show & Share - Mrs. Fox's Sweets - My Girlish Whims: Your Whims Wednesday - Oopsey Daisy: Wednesday's Wowzers - Creations by Kara: Look What I Made! - Someday Crafts: Whatever Goes Wednesday - Somewhat Simple: Strut Your Stuff Thursday - Something Swanky: Sweet Treats Thursday - Bear Rabbit Bear: Things I've Done Thursday - House of Hepworths: Hookin' Up with HoH - The Crafty Blog Stalker: Blog Stalking Thursday - What Allie's Making Now: Making It WIth Allie - A Glimpse Inside: Catch a Glimpse - Crafty, Scrappy, Happy: Crafty, Scrappy, Happy Me - Delightful Order: Delightfully Inspiring - Domesblissity: Thriving on Thursdays - Happy Hour Projects: Freestyle Friday - Stuff and Nonsense: Fridays Unfolded - Chic on a Shoestring: Flaunt it Friday - Simply Designing: Simply Link - Creation Corner: Friday Link - Days of Chalk and Chocolate: Latest & Greatest Friday - The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday - Five Days...5 Ways: Friday Free-for-All - WhipperBerry: Friday Flair - Not Your Ordinary Recipes: Foodie Friday - Sassy Sites: Free-For-All Friday - Rattlebridge Farm: Foodie Friday - Jennifer Cooks: Fusion Friday - A Little Knick Knack: EBTKS - Sweet As Sugar Cookies: Sweets for a Saturday - Six Sisters' Stuff: Strut Your Stuff Saturday - Tatertots & Jello: Weekend Wrap-Up - Gingerbread: Sweet Saturday - Too Much Time On my Hands: Get Schooled Saturday - Be Different...Act Normal: Show and Tell Saturday