Dulce De Leche Bars - 6 points

Here is one of the lessons I have learned from Weight Watchers – treats should be worth their calories. I used to eat hamburgers all the time, so I was willing to grab a bland, unseasoned patty from whatever fast food restaurant was closest. Now that I am being more health conscious, I only get a hamburger once in a blue moon. And, I am not settling for any old hamburger! It needs to be juicy, perfectly seasoning, and dripping with good toppings.

The same goes for sweets. I used to grab a stale cookie from the teachers lounge table, a snack cakes from the vending machine after lunch, and a big bowl of ice-cream after supper. Now that I rarely get sweets, I am not settling for a stale cookie or a packaged cake! I want to make sure every treat I get is truly a treat!

There was a Mexican food party at work yesterday, so I decided to make a really indulgent treat. I know this is not a traditional Mexican dessert but since dulce de leche is one of my favorite Mexican sweets, I decided these bars would work for the party. They were so amazing! There was not a crumb left to bring home, and everyone raved about the crispy crust, the smooth dulce de leche, and the lightness added by the fluffy topping. I highly recommend it when you next decide to reward your hard work!

Dulce De Leche Bars

36 chocolate sandwich cookies

6 tbsp butter, melted

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

8 oz fat free whipped topping

5 small toffee/chocolate bars

1. Poke two holes in the top of each can of sweetened condensed milk. Place cans in a medium pot; fill the pot with water until the cans are 2 cm short of being covered.
2. Place the pot over low heat for 2-4 hours, covered. The longer you leave the cans on the stove, the thicker the dulce de leche will become. (I left mine for 4 hours so that the bars would slice more easily.)
3. Place chocolate bars in the food processor. Pulse at three-second intervals, just until the chocolate is crushed.
4. Place cookies and butter in a food processor. Process for 2-3 minutes, until cookies are completely crumbed and mixture holds together well.
5. Press cookie mixture into the bottom of a 9x11 inch cake pan to form crust. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
6. Spread dulce de leche over your crust. Allow the mixture to cool completely.
7. Sprinkle half of the crushed chocolate bars over the dulce de leche. Spread with whipped topping; sprinkle remaining chocolate on top.
8. Yields 28, 6 point servings

Here is a picture I took of the top of the dessert after I finished it.

Here is a side view, showing you the layers:

I was planning on taking a picture of one of the slices I brought home. What I ended up bringing home was an empty dish! So, no picture. Oh well, it tasted great!