Ingredients
Cookie Dough
•1/3 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
•1/4 cup sugar
•1/4 cup light brown sugar
•1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
•1 vanilla bean (halve the bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds for the recipe)
•1/4 tsp salt
•2 Tbsp half-and-half (or milk or cream)
•1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Fudge
•1/3 cup light brown sugar
•1/3 cup unsalted butter
•1/8 tsp salt
•1/3 cup heavy cream
•4 cups confectioners' sugar
•2 tsp vanilla extract
•1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
1) Prepare an 8×8 square baking pan with parchment paper.
Cookie Dough
2) Beat the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer until fluffy. Add vanilla, salt, and half-and-half and continue mixing. Add flour and mix.
Fudge Base
3) Add brown sugar, butter, salt, vanilla bean, and half-and-half to a medium saucepan. Stir over medium-heat until the butter melts and the brown sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Slowly add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and stir until mixture is smooth and the sugar is fully incorporated. Add in vanilla and more powdered sugar if desired. I used four cups of powdered sugar, but you can continue to add more for thick fudge.
4) When the fudge base has cooled, combine it with the cookie dough. Make sure the base is room temperature or the chocolate chips will begin to melt and leave swirls of chocolate in the fudge. If you want the traditional chocolate chip cookie look, be sure to wait. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. Spread fudge into prepared baking pan and chill until set, about 3-4 hours. Once set, use a round cookie cutter to cut out pieces of fudge to resemble cookies for Santa.
Servings: 40 small squares