A Tribute to New Zealand
Posted: December 17, 2011 | Author: Profiteroles & Ponytails | Filed under: Cookies | Tags: Caramel, Chewy, Family Friendly, Holiday Baking, Rolo Cookies |8 CommentsWhen I think about my brief trip to New Zealand 14 years ago, there’s one thing that always comes to mind. If you’re guessing that it’s the beautiful countryside, the lovely beaches or the warm and outgoing people – you’d be wrong. When I dream about New Zealand, I dream about the rolo bar.
If you’ve never heard of it—you’re not alone. Few of us here in Canada have tried one. But if you had, you’d be right there with me. Forever yearning for the rolo bar.
Picture an oversized chocolate bar, in a similar format to a Caramilk, but made with rolos that are joined together on the flat-bottomed side. You’ll have to trust me on this one—the rolo bar is quite spectacular.
So, when my friend Jayne and I found this Rolo Cookie recipe online nine years ago, I didn’t have to think twice before giving it a try. It is a close as you can come to the rolo bar. And, my friends and family who don’t know what they are missing seem to love them. I must admit, they are pretty darn good.
As you’ll see from the pictures below, it is a good recipe for little helpers in the kitchen.
Rolo Cookies
- 2 ¼ cup flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- about 7 packages of rolos
- Granulated sugar for top or mixture of 1 cup chopped nuts with 1 tbsp sugar
Beat sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs. Beat well. Add flour and baking soda. Blend well. Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Roll 1 heaping tsp of dough in palm of hand to form a ball. Press Rolo into ball covering it completely. Press top of ball into saucer of sugar (or nut and sugar mixture). Place cookies, sugar side up, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 9-10 minutes.
TIPS:
- Make sure the rolo is completely covered by dough, otherwise the chocolate and caramel will leak out onto the pan. It’s not the end of the world, but they the cookies look nice when you can’t see the rolo that is hiding inside.
- Plan to make these cookies first if you are making other cookies, so that you can refrigerate the dough while you move onto another cookie. We’ve made the mistake of making these at the end of a day of baking, and then had bake them another day because we forgot about the 3 hours to chill the dough!
I didn’t have a rolo in years! I remember scoffing these things when I was a kid like there was no tomorrow – best of all was when the rolos were hard from the refrigerator and you could chip off the chocolate from around the caramel first!
Such yummy sounding cookies, and such cute photos! One of your daughters looks almost identical to my sister when she was about that age – it’s uncanny! My mother even has a similar photo of my sister picking on a bread-roll 🙂
Interesting that one of the girls looks like your sister when she was younger. I’m curious to know if it is the older or younger daughter? (Although my youger daughter looks a lot like her big sister did at the same age. )
I’ll have to try refrigerating them sometime — if only I can make them last that long!
I love rolos and can certainly sympathize with your passion for them! The combo of chocolate and toffee is amazing! I can’t believe how the girls have grown. Tell them to stop, it’s making me feel old!
I’ll see what I can do for you there Eva. You can talk to them about it tonight!
Oh this is just too cute! And I’m always looking for good recipes for the little helpers. 😉
Me too! I’m so pleased to have found your blog, as I’m always looking for kid-friendly recipe ideas. I really like your site.
Ah! Just stopped by to check this recipe out and have to say–your ponytails are ADORABLE!!
Way over the top adorable!!