Easy Cookies - Student Employee Appreciation Week Coming Up

The WWU Viking Union/Dean of Students unit has a cool tradition on our campus.  For one week in April we have a week to appreciate student workers.  That's next week and special things will happen all week, but I like how it starts...  Staff (those inclined to bake or purchase that is) bring in 2 dozen cookies.  They are distributed across several display  trays and then put where our student workers are in the VU for them to enjoy. So for me, it's this question: what is the yummiest, easiest cookie I want to make this Sunday?

This year I am going to try a variation on the variation described at the Bake or Break blog (BoB) of the Double Delicious Cookie Bar, except I'm going to use chocolate toffee chips instead of caramel chips.  And I'm staying with graham cracker crumbs (not the chocolate grahams) and thinking about coconut: 

Traditionally, I make these with chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Because Quinn was my reason for baking these, I let him have his say this time, and he wanted chocolate chips, caramel chips, and hazelnuts (about 3/4 cup). For an extra variation, I also used chocolate graham cracker crumbs.

Looking at BoB, you may think that I bake all the time. I do bake frequently, and I love doing it. But, there are days when I’m just not up for it. That’s when recipes like these can be your best friend. While these are certainly not a culinary masterpiece, they are definitely good. And, what a great return on your time and effort!

Here's the original version with the baking instructions and ingredients from the Eagle Brand recipes website:

Double Delicious Cookie Bars

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 cup (6 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup (6 oz.) peanut butter-flavored chips

Instructions

1. HEAT oven to 350°F (325°F for glass dish).
2. COMBINE graham cracker crumbs and butter in small bowl; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly into bottom of 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
3. POUR sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork.
4. BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars.
5. For perfectly cut bars: Line entire pan with a sheet of foil. Coat lightly with no-stick cooking spray. When bars are cool, lift up edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into individual squares. Lift off foil.
6. You may substitute butterscotch flavored chips or white chocolate chips for the semi-sweet chocolate chips and/or peanut butter chips.