Ferrero Rocher Cookie Bars

These Ferrero Rocher Cookie Bars are good...maybe too good! So good that I wanted them out of my house as quickly as possible so that I wouldn't eat them all! (Spoiler alert: I ate four...)

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough, dotted with whole hazelnuts and baked to chewy-perfection, then topped with a generous layer of dark chocolate hazelnut spread. Finished with a layer of dark chocolate and a sprinkling of chopped hazelnuts.

Perfection. Chocolatey-hazelnut-peanut-perfection.

Ferrero Rocher Cookie Bars

Cookie Dough Recipe adapted from Kelly Peloza's Vegan Cookie Connoisseur 

Makes 12 bars

For the cookie dough

1/4C vegetable oil

1/2C smooth peanut butter

1/4C sugar

3/4C light brown sugar

1Tbsp maple syrup

3Tbsp soy milk

1/2tsp vanilla extract

1C plain flour

1/2tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

3/4C dark chocolate chips

1/2C whole hazelnuts

1C vegan chocolate hazelnut butter or vegan chocolate spread

250g dark chocolate, melted

1/2C chopped hazelnuts

Grease a square cake tin and preheat the oven to 175/350.

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the oil, peanut butter, sugars, maple, milk and vanilla until you have a smooth, caramel-like mixture. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix well. Fold in the dark chocolate chips and press the cookie dough into the tin using your fingers (make sure it's nice and even.) Carefully press the hazelnuts into the top of the cookie dough, space them about an inch apart. Bake the cookie bars for 15-20mins, until they're golden brown and don't jiggle if you shake the pan. Leave to cool in the tin before moving on to the toppings.

Spread the hazelnut butter evenly over the cookie bars. Pour the melted dark chocolate over the top and use a knife to smooth it over. Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts over the top and place the cookie bars in the fridge to set for a few hours or overnight.

Once set turn the bars out and cut into 12 slices. I find it's easiest to cut them with the bars upside down on a chopping board (chocolate side down) as the cookie part is softer than the chocolate so cuts easily. 

Store in an airtight container for up to a week.