That’s right, you heard it here first: INSANITY BARS. Not at all like Insanity the workout…in fact, I’d argue that they are significantly more enjoyable!
I mean, just take a gander at these babies! At the bottom you have a layer of sugar cookie with toffee bits, in the middle is a peanut butter cookie layer, and at the top is a layer of chocolate chip cookie!
The recipe is super simple too…basically you’re making a half batch of each cookie and then layering them on top of one another! To start, preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9×13 pan (you can also line with parchment if you feel like it, although it’s not necessary).
For the sugar cookie layer:
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup toffee bits (optional but highly recommended :))
Cream together butter and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla and stir until smooth and combined. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined. Fold in the toffee bits. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
For the peanut butter cookie layer:
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1 egg white
- 2/3 cup + 2 Tbsp flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Cream butter and sugars together. Add the egg white and peanut butter. Add the dry ingredients (I just did it all at once…the horror!!!). Press into a smooth layer on top of the sugar cookie layer. You might need to wet your hands a bit to help spread it.
For the chocolate chip cookie layer (I used this recipe):
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups chocolate chips
Same instructions as the other cookie layers; cream together the butter and sugars, add the egg and vanilla til smooth, then add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and layer on top of the other two cookies.
Bake all of this magic at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until the cookie does not shake and the top is golden brown. Cool completely before serving!
This was a huge hit at the office today. I let everyone help pick names, and this is what I got:
- Helluva Good Treat Bars
- Fantastic Voyage Bars
- ChocoSugarNut Bars
- Sugar Coma Bars
- Cookie Monster Bars
Whatever you call them, I’m sure you’ll love them and they’ll be a huge hit 🙂
Unfortunately the Insanity Bars are not all I ate today 🙂 I had a Spinach Feta Wrap from Starbucks:
And THEN I had a bar (you know, for dessert). Lunch was also a healthy one:
About 1 loose cup of whole wheat spaghetti topped with roasted broccoli and parmesan cheese. YUM!
I’m so excited about this evening…we are going to ride our bikes around a nearby lake and take in the breathtaking view of the mountains! Then we’ll eat dinner and drive the 5 bajillion miles to the Denver airport to pick up my mother- and sister-in-law! The drive isn’t actually that bad, but it’s much better when done in daylight since the view is COMPLETELY INCREDIBLE on the way back. Lucky for them we’re making an exception, just this once 🙂 (totally kidding guys – we would make that exception any day)!
OH! I almost forgot this picture of my Big Boy Bunker Bear:
He and Keira have so graciously been sleeping on my feet all day and keeping them warm. Super sweet of them, isn’t it?!
Random question of the day: what was your first pet (cat, dog, fish, etc) and what was their name? My “first pet” was one of parents’ dogs, Paladin (pronounced pal-uh-din) and he was a big mixed breed dog. One of my dad’s favorite stories about Paladin is that when I was a baby and they were introducing me to the dogs and cat (2 dogs, 1 cat), they had me on my tummy and Paladin came over and just laid his head on my butt. They said every time the other dog or cat would come over to sniff me Paladin would growl at them, and then when they walked away he’d just lay his head on my butt again. I love that story!
Whoa, those have so many of my favorite desserts warped in to one!! nice!
Take pictures, I’d love to see the view! My first pet was a tiny black kitten named Pepa (as in Salt-N-Pepa) Pump up the Jam!! LOL
My first pet was a cat, Tiggy. He was so adorable, and I was really close to him. He was my little baby (I was around 12-13). Unfortunately, car hit him a year after I got him :/
These bars look so delicious!
Holy hell those look delicious!
I am totally making those bars!!
My first dog was an English Setter named Abby. My mom has a picture of me as a baby lounging right on top of her, legs crossed, licking a rubber spatula. Although in the pic, it’s turned just right so that it looks like a knife, lol. But I love the pic because I am right on the floor, laying on the dog, and she has her head turned looking at me like she is babysitting or something.
Those bars are insane!
We had a poodle when I was really little, like 4, and it’s name was little man. One of my first memories as a kid is him jumping up onto my brothers high chair and licking spaghetti off of the tray.
I drove to the Denver airport this morning! It was gorgeous and much prettier than it was on Tuesday when I was there during the evening thunderstorms. Those bars look AMAZING!
My first real pet was a hermit crab that I named Hermiah. My best friend gave it to me for my birthday- my parents were a little less than pleased haha
Uhhhh YUM. Love the layered look. My first pet? I had a dog when I was really little that I don’t really remember…what I do remember are a few goldfish and then a gerbil named Petie!
Oh for the love of all that is good in this world…I am going to make those bars as soon as I have a good reason to!!!! They look amazing. *clicks star on post*
My first pet was a toy poodle named Tiffany. She was hit by a car when I was 3 or 4. My very first memory is actually of crying in my bed about her “going away”.
I’m definitely going to be making those bars for work in the very near future!
The first pet I remember was our big white rabbit named Thumper. My mom has a pic of me and a friend sitting in an old RadioFlyer wagon and Thumper is climbing in….he lived to be about 12 or 13. He was a sweet bunny!
Wait, you can bring your dogs to work?! I’m jealous! My first pet was a black rabbit named Jelly Bean. He did last very long though. While we were away on vacation our neigbors left him out in the sun too long and he passed away!
Oh, and as everyone else already said, those bars look scrumptious!
I’m drooling over those cookies!!!!
I’m making those this weekend!
Hope you enjoy your bike ride. Sounds so nice. The first pet that was mine and mine only was a black Cocker Spaniel that was given to me when I was 15 by my then boyfriend. I named her Abigail, called her Abby and she was with me for 14 years.
My first pet was a gold fish named “goldie” he lived for 7 years and we got him at a fair, so I guess that is a LONG time for my fish to live. He eventually died because we had to change the food and then he jumped out of his bowl. I was VERY sad, because that was the only animal I have ever had!! 🙁
The first pet I remember having was a stray cat we adopted named “Blue.”. My dad and I were living with his girlfriend at the time and she had a pet boa constrictor.
My babysitter at the time decided to take the snake out of its cage and show me up close. It slipped out of her hands and latched onto my face!
Although boas strangle their prey, the DO have teeth!
BTW-insanity bars look incredible sugar high inducing! In a good way 😉
Oh my, those bars ARE insane!!! YUM!!!
My first cat was a little black kitten named Blackie (yep, I was a creative child). But he ran away. I’m sure it had nothing to do with how I would dress him up in my doll clothes and make him “marry” my stuffed animals…
Love your bar idea- then you don’t have to pick which flavor cookie you want- you can have them all!! 🙂
i read INSANITY bars and thought they had to do with the workouthaha like pre or post workout bars, but no no these are SERIOUS delicious looking decadent bars!!
my first dog was JERSEY we named him that because when i was in 4th grade we almost moved to NJ, then we didnt and got a dog and named him that in honor of not moving!
I love the view coming out of DIA! All the Front Range right in ahead of you, in all its glory. Only in Colorado, right?
The only better airport view is the one coming from the Colorado Springs airport when you have Pikes Peak in all its 14,000 ft glory and Cheyenne Mountain to gander at…I might be biased though since I am from the Springs. I love the Peak. 🙂
First pet was a sweet orange tabby named Chester. I miss him….but my parents now have a cat named Horace (yes, my family likes to name its pets with weird, old man names) who is also very sweet. Awww, I love pets! I want one!
Growing up, my family had a black lab named Sam when I was already born, but MY first pet was a cat I named Bellini. Guess I liked food and bev from an early age 🙂
Yummmmmmy bars! Seriously.
My first pet was a female cat named “Regis” because we thought she was a boy when we found her and my mom loved “regis & kathy lee.” Now, my baby girl Yorkie is named Layla after the Eric Clapton song. Have tons of fun with your family!
Please take pics! I’d love to see this beautiful view!
My first real pet was my kitty that I currently still have. He’s the best. 😉