You need these See’s Chocolate-inspired Polar Bear Paw Cookies in your life, trust me. A soft Peanut Butter Cookie base with layers of caramel and white chocolate, then topped with a pinch of peanuts. Ooh la la!
I am a See’s Candies fanatic. Whenever I visit my family a few states over, my sisters, mom, and I make a point of visiting “chocolate heaven” once or twice. In fact, we’re “those people” who request our sample by name instead of taking the one that’s offered. We’re difficult like that. Or maybe it’s just that we are women, we love our chocolate, and we’ve got preferences, by golly!
One of my favorite, if not “the” most favorite chocolate of mine at See’s are their Polar Bear Paws. Have you had one? If not, you haven’t truly lived. It’s a cluster of soft caramel and peanuts blanketed in white chocolate. I can’t leave the store without a cup or two of them.
So the other day I had a lightbulb moment and thought, “Why not make my favorite See’s chocolate in cookie form?” Well, I couldn’t come up with an answer to that question, so I did. That is, I made the cookie of all cookies for peanut butter and Polar Bear Paws lovers.
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And then rinse and repeat. Because once you try these, you’re not going to forget about them. In fact they’ll consume your daydreams and night dreams. You’ll try to get them out of your head, but they’ll engrain themselves in your brain and render you powerless. But if I ever had to succumb to a full-on takeover of my thoughts, I would want it to be by Polar Bear Paw Cookies. In fact, I’d throw both of my hands in the air and gladly surrender. You’ll see why when you make these.
{POLAR BEAR PAW COOKIES}
Makes about 16 cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
Caramel Topping:
1 cup caramel bits
1 Tbsp. milk
White Chocolate Topping:
3/4 cup White Chocolate Chips (Nestle Tollhouse are the best for this)
Peanuts for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter, peanut butter, sugars, vanilla, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry mixture to wet and mix until combined.
Cover dough and refrigerate for one hour, or until dough is firm. Shape dough into 1 1/4″ balls and place about 3″ apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on the sheet before removing to a cooling rack. Let cool mostly before making the toppings.
In a microwave-safe bowl, add caramel bits and milk and melt in 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Caramel bits are best for this recipe because they are softer than the caramel candies. Let caramel sit for about a minute until it sets up just a little and stops bubbling. Get a spoonful of caramel and pour it on top of the cookie. It will drip down the sides a bit, but that’s good!
Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Be careful not to let them go for too long in the microwave or they will scorch and seize. Pour a spoonful of melted white chocolate over the caramel. You may need to spread it slightly with the spoon, depending on the thickness. Now sprinkle with a few peanuts and enjoy!
Who knows, maybe I’ll be making less frequent trips to See’s for Polar Bear Paws now that I’ve got this phenomenal substitute.
I hope you love these like I do!
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