Pineapple White Chocolate Bar Cookies

Christmas Cupcake Murder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

## The Crust and Topping Ingredients

* 2 cups ***(4 sticks, 16 ounces, 1 pound)*** salted butter softened to room temperature
* 1 cup white ***(granulated)*** sugar
* 1 and 1/2 cups powdered ***(confectioners')*** sugar
* 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
* 4 cups all-purpose flour ***(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***

## The Pineapple White Chocolate Filling Ingredients

* 12.25-ounce jar pineapple ice cream topping ***(I used Smucker's)***
* 12-ounce bag ***(approximately 2 cups)*** white chocolate or vanilla baking chips ***(I used Nestlé)***
* 1 Tablespoon sea or Kosher salt ***(the coarse-ground kind)***

### Directions for Crust:

* Before you begin to make the crust and filling, spray a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with Pam or another non-stick baking spray.

* **Hannah's 1st Note: This crust and filling is a lot easier to make with an electric mixer. You can do it by hand, but it will take some muscle.**

* Combine the butter, white sugar, and powdered sugar in a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at MEDIUM speed until the mixture is light an creamy.
* Add the vanilla extract. Mix it in until it is thoroughly combined.
* Add the flour in half-cup increments, beating at LOW speed after each addition. Beat until everything is combined.

* **Hannah's 2nd Note: When you've mixed in the flour, the resulting sweet dough will be soft. Don't worry. That's the way it's supposed to be.**

* Measure out a heaping cup of the sweet dough you've made and place it in a sealable plastic bag. Seal the bag and put it in the refrigerator.
* With impeccably clean hands, press the rest of the sweet dough into the bottom of your prepared cake pan. This will form a bottom crust. Press it all the way out to the edges of the pan and a half-inch up the sides, as evenly as you can. Don't worry if your sweet dough is a bit uneven. It won't matter to any of your guests.
* Bake your bottom crust at 325 degrees F., for approximately 20 minutes or until the edges are beginning to turn a pale golden brown color.
* When the crust has turned pale golden brown, remove the pan from the oven, but DON'T SHUT OFF THE OVEN! Set the pan with your baked crust on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack to cool. Cool it approximately 15 minutes.

### Directions for Pineapple White Chocolate Filling:

* After your crust has cooled, take the lid off the jar of pineapple ice cream topping and put it in the microwave.
* Heat the pineapple topping for 15 to 20 seconds on HIGH.
* Let the jar cool in the microwave for 1 minute. Then use potholders to take the jar out.
* Pour the pineapple ice cream topping over the baked bottom crust in the pan as evenly as you can.
* Smooth it out to the edges of your crust with a heat-resistant spatula.
* Open the bag of white chocolate or vanilla baking chips and sprinkle them over the pineapple ice cream topping as evenly as you can.
* ***Here comes the salt!***  Sprinkle the sea salt or Kosher salt over the chips in the pan.
* Take the remaining sweet dough out of the refrigerator and unwrap it. It has been refrigerated for 35 minutes or more, and it should be thoroughly chilled.
* With your impeccably clean fingers, crumble the dough over the pineapple and white chocolate chip layer as evenly as you can. Leave a little space, so the pineapple sauce can bubble up between the crumbles.

* **Hannah's 3rd Note: If the pineapple topping bubbles up through the top of your bar cookies, it will look very pretty.**

* Return the pan to the oven and bake your bar cookies for 25 to 30 additional minutes, or until the crumbles on top are a light golden brown. Remove your bar cookies from the oven onto a cold burner or a wire rack to cool.

* **Hannah's 4th Note: Your pan of Pineapple White Chocolate Bar Cookies will smell so delicious, you'll be tempted to cut it into squares and eat on immediately. Resist the urge! The bubbly hot pineapple topping will burn your mouth.**

* After 5 minutes of cooling time, use potholders to carry the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

* **Hannah's 5th Note: When I bake these bar cookies at home in the winter, I place a wire rack out on the little table on my condo balcony and carry the pan out there. The Pineapple White Chocolate Bar Cookies cool quite fast when exposed to a Minnesota winter.**

* When your Pineapple White Chocolate Bar Cookies are completely cool, cut them into brownie-size pieces, place them on a pretty plate, and serve them to your guests.

Yield:  A cake pan full of yummy brownie-sized  treats that everyone will love. Serve them with icy-cold glasses of milk, mugs of hot chocolate, or cups of strong, hot coffee.