Almond Joy Bar Cookies

I pinned Almond Joy Pudding Cookies onto my Pinterest Sweets and Treats board awhile back and finally had a chance to bake them yesterday. This tasty recipe came from Dorothy's blog Crazy for Crust, a website loaded with recipes that are mainly desserts and sweets (my favorite kind).

I changed things up a bit and made bar cookies instead of individual cookies for these two reasons...

1) I made Butterfinger Oatmeal Cookies awhile back and wished I hadn't chopped up the candy bar quite so much. From that experience, I knew I wanted bigger chunks of Almond Joy than Dorothy's recommended 1 inch ball of dough would be able to hold.

2) It is blasted hot where I live, in the triple digits, and I reasoned that if I baked the dough all at once, I could turn my oven off sooner. :)

Anyway, here is my bar cookie version. If you would rather stick to individual cookies, click here for Dorothy's scrumptious Almond Joy Pudding Cookies. 

Almond Joy Bar Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 sugar
1 (3.5 oz.) instant coconut cream pudding
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cups flour
18 mini Almond Joy candy bars, coarsely chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together butter and sugars. Add pudding mix and blend well. Add eggs and vanilla. Slowly add salt, soda and flour. Mix until combined. Gently stir in chopped candy bars.

Press dough evenly in ungreased 13x9 inch pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Cool, cut into squares and enjoy!