Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars

These bars...

They're just pure sin!

And I polished off more than half a pan myself late one night *embarrassed smile*


So I'm never making them again... especially given that I've just realised I've gained 10 kilos over the last year & need to lose it by the end of January!



But you totally should... Just make sure you have lots of people around that you can gift them to, they're not all that fattening if you eat 1-2 bars like any normal human being would, but unfortunately these are the sort that make you want to curl up in your favorite pyjamas, play your favorite movie and munch on till you forget you were ever trying to diet! They've got oats, so they're sorta healthy too!





Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars
Adapted from Recipe Girl
Makes one 9x13 pan, or 24 bars


For the Gooey Chocolate filling:

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

For the cookies:
1 cup [2 sticks / 226 g] unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup [100 g] granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups [240 g] all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F [180 C]. Grease and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper or strong foil, leaving enough overhang to lift the bars out of the pan.
2. For the gooey chocolate filling: In a small saucepan over extreme low heat, melt together the chocolate chips & condensed milk, stirring constantly, until the chocolate has melted. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the vanilla and set aside to cool.
3. For the cookie: In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until light and creamy. Beat in the egg, egg yolk & vanilla.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt (if using). Add this to the butter mixture, beating just until incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Divide the dough into two halves. Use one half and press down lightly in the bottom of the pan until it's more or less an even layer. Now pour the cooled chocolate mixture on top, spreading to create an even layer.
6. Add dollops of the remaining dough on top of the chocolate layer, it's ok if it doesn't cover it completely, I chose to have quite a bit of the chocolate layer peeking through.
7. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely, then cut into bars (refrigerating these bars for half an hour just before cutting will give you neater bars, allow to come back to room temperature before serving)

Chocolate Espresso Biscotti

Finally. I stepped back into the kitchen after almost 2 whole months. I'd been on this serious dieting = working out bender, to lose the extra pounds, and an added motivation was my sister's wedding, which just about finished. I've taken a week or so off from the gym+diet, so ofcourse the first thing I wanted to do was eat something chocolatey.

When you're craving something bad, deciding what to make is quite a task. Luckily, it was a made a little easier because I had to bake something for this month's Secret Recipe Club. I had Veronica's blog, My Catholic Kitchen as this month's assignment. Going through this blog was super fun, and one of the few where I had tons and tons of options. Since I was craving a fix bad, I picked the one whose ingredients were already at home. Biscotti has also been something I've always meant to try making, but never really gotten around to.



It was surprisingly easy to make too. About 10 minutes of prep and they were in the oven. Biscotti translates to 'twice baked', and the waiting period between the two baking bursts were the hardest part. I actually contemplated leaving one of the logs as is, and eating it like a giant cookie. But I was good, and I baked both the way they're supposed to be baked. These are so crunchy and light, they're the perfect start to my mornings. And, they're not even that unhealthy :)

  

 Chocolate Espresso Biscotti
Adapted from My Catholic Kitchen

1/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp espresso coffee
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions -

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
2. In the bowl of your mixer, beat the softened butter until creamy. Add the sugar, and beat until light and fluffy. Now add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition. Also mix in the espresso.
3. Sift together the cocoa powder, baking powder and flour. Add to the previous mixture, it will be very thick. Mix in the chocolate chips.
4. Divide the dough into two parts, and shape them into flat logs, about 2-3 inches thick. Bake for 30 minutes, until the top feels done.
5. Remove from oven and cool for an hour on a wire rack. Now slice the logs diagonally, about an inch thick. Line the bars up on the cookie sheet. Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the biscotti are crisp.
6. Munch on with a cup of steaming coffee :)

DIY : Homemade Whatchamacallit Bars

(Update Dec 2012: Picture of a new batch)
 (Sorry about the crappy picture, clicked these in the night and finished them, I'll make some more soon and update the post)

Who else loves these bars? They were quite the nostalgic trip for me, I remember eating them as a child, before we moved to India, and absolutely loving them. They still aren't available in India, but I had ordered a box of them while I was in the UK, so up until a few months ago I was happily enjoying them, being reminded of their awesomeness.

Ofcourse, coming here I missed them a lot, but never considered looking up a recipe for a homemade knock-off, even though I have made or seen quite a few other candy bars. Until I got this month's Secret Recipe Club assignment that is. Chris's blog, Mele Cotte, has been on my reader for ages, and all the desserts she posts has made it one of my top blogs. I was super pumped to get her blog this month. I went to her recipe index, totally prepared to spend a day or two trying to decide what to make, as I usually do. And while a lot of recipes stood out to me, as soon as I saw these bars, I was sure. I couldn't believe my eyes, and cursed myself quite a bit when I realised I could have been making these bars for ages.

They are super easy to make, especially if you have butterscotch chips. I didn't, and made my own butterscotch sauce, which took all of 5 minutes and has already become a staple in my house. I want to play with that recipe just a bit more, and I'll post it after I'm done. The most difficult part is waiting for the chocolate to set, and the anticipation of knowing how close they reach to the real deal, which is a LOT. I am in love with these, they are so good, and I know the pan's going to be over in no time. Luckily, its an easy recipe to be addicted to!


(Update Dec 2012 : Picture of a new batch) Look at that luscious peanut buttery caramel oozing out. There goes the diet.

Homemade Whatchamacallit / Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Caramel Bars
Recipe from Mele Cotte

1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white corn syrup (I used honey)
1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup butterscotch chips
6 cups Puffed Rice Cereal (like Rice Krispies) (for Indians, kurmura is about the same thing, though Iused Rice Krispies)
2 cups good-quality bittersweet chocolate

Instructions -

1. Grease and line a sheet pan. Set aside. Place the Rice Krispies in a large bowl, that allows space for mixing.
2. In a medium saucepan, mix together the sugar, corn syrup / honey, and peanut butter. Melt, remove from heat and add the butterscotch chips/sauce. Stir until melted completely
3. Pour this mixture over the Rice Krispies, and stir/toss to coat evenly. Transfer into the prepared pan, and try to form a nice even layer. Refrigerate to set.
4. Once the Rice Krispies are set (about 10 minutes), cut them into large bars.  Re-line the same pan, or use another large pan lined with foil.
5. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler / microwave. Using a fork, dip each bar into the chocolate, ensuring it is coated on all sides, and lay onto the prepared foil lined pan. Allow the chocolate to set ; enjoy.

Chocolate Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

I am just writing this post after submitting the last assignment of my life. I do have a dissertation due, but this is the last assignment ever. I'm pretty saturated with all the writing, so I'm going to keep this one short.

I was assigned Dancing Veggies blog, and had a lot of great options, but picked these bars, but forgot a step where I had to add the chips into the cookie layer. I made up for it by putting a chocolate layer on top, and these tasted amazing. I've changed up the proportions a bit, because I feel they need more of the cheesecake taste.

Chocolate Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Inspired by Dancing Veggies

1 cup [120 g] flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick [113 g / 8 oz] butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips - or alternately, you can add a chocolate layer like I did, following this recipe
For the cheesecake layer.
16 oz cream cheese
4 tbsp white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions -

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Grease and line a 9x9 pan, with overhang
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking soda.
3. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Now beat in the egg and mix well.
4. Add the flours to the butter mixture, and mix until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips, if using. Lay this onto the pan.
5. In a clean bowl, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla. Pour onto the cookie dough layer. Bake for 25 minutes, until the center is a little jiggly and the sides are set. 
6. Cool, and if using a chocolate layer, pour on top. Cut into squares and serve.

Chocolate Caramel Shortbread... Homemade Twix

 

These bars! I've been waiting so so long to be able to post. For once, I made my Secret Recipe Club assignment almost as soon as I got it. Turns out, this isn't always the best idea, since I had to wait almost a month, and these bars were so good, it was like slow torture. They rank high up, in my top 10 recipes for sure. They had the perfect slightly crunchy crispy shortbread base, exactly like a Twix base, but more substantial, with more win in it. The caramel is a modified dulce de leche, just with extra butter and extra goodness. It was the perfect goeey, stringy soft caramel that I love. And ofcourse, the chocolate layer. I used good quality dark chocolate, and that just took the bars to a whole other level.

This recipe is one of the easiest I've made, but also is one of the best. I can't stop raving, I made the mistake of making only half a recipe, since I didn't have a big enough pan. I'm just waiting to go buy a nice big pan now so I can make a full recipe. Don't make the same mistake I did.



I got Sara's blog, which has probably given me the most options to pick from ever. Since I now cook, there were a few cooking recipes that I bookmarked too, but since I want to keep the blog only about baking, I picked this. Sara chose to decorate it with some colored white chocolate, and while I considered that, for me, nothing looks better than a nice smear of dark chocolate.


I always leave nice overhang so that removing and cutting becomes easy. I sometimes lay two strips of foil out in a cross pattern if the foil won't cover the pan entirely.


The shortbread, nice and golden brown-y, will make your house smell amazing!


One of the best things in this world!


Your finger should leave a dent like shown in this picture. This is post cooling, so it aim for a little runnier.

Chocolate Caramel Shortbreads / Homemade Twix

Recipe adapted from Cook with Sara

Shortbread Crust -
1 cup [2 sticks / 226 g] butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups [240 g] flour
3/4 tsp. salt

Caramel Filling -
7 Tbsp. [100 g] butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 cans (14 oz each) sweetened condensed milk
Pinch of salt

10 oz. dark [or semi-sweet] chocolate, chopped
3 tbsp [ 42 g] butter

Instructions - 

1. Preheat oven to 350 F [180 C]. Grease and line a 9x13 pan with parchment, leaving some overhang on the sides.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Now add in the vanilla, the flour and the salt. Mix until just combined.
3. Pour into prepared pan, and pat the crumbs down lightly, to make sure they stick. Bake for around 15 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Remove to cool completely.
4. For the caramel filling - In a large saucepan, combine together the butter, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk and salt. Bring to a boil, constantly stirring. Reduce heat to medium low, stirring constantly and simmer until it turns a deep caramel color, about 15 - 18 minutes. Pour onto cooled crust, and refrigerate for an hour. It might seem runny at first, but the refrigeration makes it firm up a bit. Post refrigeration, your finger should make and leave a dent, as shown.
5. Once the caramel layer is ready, melt the chocolate and butter together. Pour onto the caramel layer, just making lines with the spatula if you want, and refrigerate for another hour.
6. Cut into bars, [I prefer using a pastry scraper], and serve.

Creamy Lemon Squares

It's time for the Secret Recipe Club again. I'm the biggest procrastinator ever, and have never, ever been able to schedule a post. This group is slowly changing that in me!! This post, and last month's have both been scheduled. Can you believe it? Who knew blogging would bring about such life changes too, I've actually began doing things on time, instead of beginning a few hours after due date. Thank you, Amanda :) You should sign up too!

This time I was assigned Cara's blog, the Boys Made Me Do it. I was really happy with this assignment, she had a lot of great choices, and I was torn between these bars that she made from the Pioneer Woman, or Joy the Baker's super famous Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread. I finally chose the lemon bars, since the were so absolutely easy to make, and yeast is something I have yet to conquer. Plus, lemon is something I love baking with, but somehow I haven't done as much. Turns out it was the perfect pick, these bars, though easy and not true lemon bars, were absolutely delicious. The creaminess of the filling just went perfectly with the oat-sy crust, the and puckeriness of the lemons was just wonderful. This took like 10 minutes to prepare too, so there really shouldn't be anything stopping you from making these.

Creamy Lemon Squares

Adapted from the Boys Made Me Do It via the Pioneer Woman

1 1/2 cup [180g ] flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 stick [113 g] butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oats - I used quick cooking
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice - This can be varied according to taste
zest of 1 lemon

Instructions -

1. Preheat oven to 350 F [180 C]. Grease a 8 x 11 pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the softened butter and brown sugar. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add this to the butter mixture, stir till incorporated. Now dump in the oats, and mix as best you can.
3. Line about 3/4th of this mixture at the bottom of your pan, and press it in using your fingers, or a measuring cup.
4. In a medium bowl, pour in the can of sweetened condensed milk. Add the lemon juice and zest. You can taste this mixture as you go, and vary lemon accordingly. It should be really quite puckery, the taste mutes a little because of the crust. Mix well, and pour over the layer of oats. Slightly level with a spatula.
5. Now sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the lemon layer, and lightly flatten with fingers, don't pack it in.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, till the crumb in golden brown. Cool for about 30 minutes, cut into bars, and serve.

Oatmeal Apple Pie Bars

Making the apple pie a while ago, I'd been craving another apple dessert, and how. I didn't want to make the same pie again, or even Mom's trusted crumble, because there's such a long list of recipes I've bookmarked to try, I feel I'll never get to them if I keep making the same things again and again. On the other hand, I simply want to go with the trusted and simple. Do you feel the same conflict? What do you do?

This time, trying out a new recipe won, and I chose what Beth [who has her own great book] calls the best ever. So, I thought they have to be really good. Made them, and they tasted super good. I loved the crunch against the sweet apples and the subtle ginger undertones. The filling tasted absolutely scrumptious. 

This was a complete winner, however, if I ever feel an apple craving coming again, I'll probably go with the crumble [to avoid all the butter and fat] or go with the pie if I'm eating all that fat anyway. This was awesome, but it didn't match the sinfulness of a nice pie. I'd suggest making these when you have company, so that you can eat these babies without eating too much and wasting your precious guilt free allotment of sinful desserts. Or am I the only person who does that? I just think, that if I'm eating something super-rich, it has to be worth it, i.e all that fat should make it that much better. I wouldn't want to miss out on these though. This is bookmarked as my 'for company' recipe!




Oatmeal Apple Pie Bars
Adapted from Beth Lipton

Makes 24


Filling -
3 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger - Yes, I'm sure.
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt


Crust - 
1 cup [120 g] all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup quick cooking oats, not instant
1 stick [113 g/8 oz.] unsalted butter, melted


Instructions - 

1. Preheat oven to 350 F [180 C]. Line a 9 inch baking pan with foil/parchment.
2. Make the filling : Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add all remaining filling ingredients and cook, stirring often and apples begin to tenderise and caramelise, about 10 minutes. Add water or brandy if the filling seems too thick, a tbsp at a time. Set aside to cool, while you begin wokring on the crust.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, brown sugar and oats. Add the melted butter and incorporate well. Separate about 1 1/2 cups of the crust mixture and press into the bottom of the pan.
4. Spoon the filling over the crust, trying to ensure a more or less single layer. Sprinkle on the remaining crust mixture.
5. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, until the topping is light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack completely, and cut into squares. I had no trouble cutting, but if you do, refrigerate the bars for about an hour, which will allow cleaner cuts.
6. Serve plain, or with some ice-cream. These bars will lose their crunch after about 3 days, but I'm sure they won't last that long!

Cherry Brown Butter Bars

I know this is late, but I made some amazing bars with these cherries the day I got back from Europe! These cherries may not look like anything much to you, but considering the kind of tiny cherries we get here in India, these were a real find. And I just knew I had to make something spectacular with them. I'd had my eyes on these bars from Deb's site since forever, so I chose to go with them. Anything that has Deb's endorsement, you just know it HAS to be heavenly!


I decided not to experiment too much, and just stick to the tried and trusted, having the fear of my precious cherries going waste in my mind. And thank the lord I didn't. Because these bars, were over-the-top AMAZING!! It took less than a day for these to get over, I barely had any pieces left for pictures! They taste pretty much like a clafoutis, but better, since the crust gives it an amazing texture and mouth-feel. Ofcourse, you can also make these in the tart form, following this recipe.





Cherry Brown Butter Bars
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen


I reduced the amount keeping in accordance with the amount of cherries I had, but I'm giving the actual amounts to you!


For the crust:
7 tbsp [100 g] unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup [75 g] sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup + 1 tbsp [160 g] flour
Pinch of salt


For the filling:
1/2 cup [115 g] sugar
2 large eggs
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup [35 g] flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
1 pound sweet cherries, which will yield 12 ounces of pitted cherries plus leftovers (you could also use 12 oz of any other berry) (I used a little more, which is why mine is so berry-ful :p)



Instructions
For the Crust - 

1. Preheat oven to 375 F [180 C]. Grease and line a 8 inch square pan - It is important to line the pan, and possibly leave some overhang, if you want nice neat pieces.
   
2. In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the flour and salt, and stir until incorporated, and a dough is formed.
3. Transfer dough to the prepared pan, and bake for around 18 minutes, or until golden brown.
4. Press the dough back down if it puffs up, and let it cool outside, while you prepare the filling.

For the Filling - 

1. In a saucepan, cook butter until it turns a deep dark brown, which takes around 5 minutes. Make sure to pay attention, and stir to avoid any burning. Once browned to your liking, pout into a medium glass bowl to prevent furthur browning.
2. Add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla to the butter, and mix well.
   
3. Mix in the flour and salt.
4. Arrange whatever berries you are using, on the cooled crust. Pour the filling evenly onto the fruit.
5. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until the filling is slightly risen, is golden brown, and a tester inserted comes out clean.
6. Cool bars in the pan, and then using parchment/foil, take the bars out and cut pieces as big/small as you want. My own preference is to cut them through the fruit, since it just adds to the visual appeal, but ofcourse, you could avoid them if they are giving you any sort of trouble.

Basbousa, or Baked Coconut Halva

Update : Picture updated Dec 2010

Basbousa is a traditional Middle Eastern dessert! My mom found the recipe a few years ago, and has been making it ever since! Everyone simply LOVES it! I'm always interested in traditional desserts around the world, and to compare the differences, and morely, the similarities! It's quite shocking sometimes! Basbousa is very similar to the Indian dessert, Halva. It can actually also be called Coconut Halva. It's a nice way to variate, without going too far away from the traditional, so that people expecting traditional dessert will also have a bite of this!

The basbousa actually really easy, and much lighter than it's Indian counterpart! It's essentially a one-bowl recipe! You just dump in all the ingredients, directly into the pan even! While it's baking, you can make the super-easy syrup, and pour it on once it's done! It's really that simple! The syrup is a real important step, don't skim on it!



Basbousa/Coconut Halva
Adapted from RecipeZaar

1 stick [1/2 cup, 113 g] butter, melted
3/4 cup [210 g] granulated sugar
1/2 cup [75 g] flour
1 1/4 cup [275 g] semolina
1 1/2 cup [150 g] coconut - make sure you use dessicated, shredded tends to absorb moisture, and make it pudding-y!
3/4 cup [220 g] milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp almond extract
blanched whole almons, for decoration

For the syrup -
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp [110 g] granulated sugar
1/2 cup [125 g] water
1 tbsp rose water
1 tbsp lemon juice


Instructions -

1. Preheat oven to 180 C [350 F], grease a 9x11 pan.
   
2. Mix together all the ingredients for the cake, except the blanched almonds.
3. Pour it into the pan, score into diamond shapes, and add almonds to each piece [This is the traditional way to do it, and the almonds look really good when baked]
4. Bake for 35 mins, or until the top browns.
5. While the cake is baking, prepare the syrup.
6. Boil together the sugar, water and rose syrup, if using, until no granules remains.
7. Take off the heat, and add the lemon juice.
8. Pour onto a slightly cooled cake. The syrup will pool on top, don't worry. It will all get absorbed, and give the most amazing texture.
9. Give the 'cake' a few hours to soak up all the syrup, and then cut along the scored lines.
   

What you achieve are perfect mini-desserts! Sorry I don't have a picture of a piece, this was given away! But each piece comes out seperately, with a nice firm texture. The taste is simply out of this world, not too sweet, and you can't really taste the coconut, so coconut haters, don't run away from this one. It's like a tea-time dessert, and Indians will find the taste very familiar! Try this!

Jam Squares

Wooh! I'm finally back, after going through some major laptop issues!! Haven't been online for days, will catch up on your blogs tomorrow!! :$ But the good thing about a spoilt laptop is, I ve lotss of time to bake :) I made so many things!! One of those are these delicious jam squares, to use up all the excess jam I were leftover from these cookies!

And boy, was I glad I made them! So easy, and yet so delicious! My favorite part was where the jam oozed out, and caramelised, it tasted soo good!! Really mouth-watering! The squares were over before I knew it, with my diet-conscious friends eating it up without a care in the world :P! Try these when you don't really feel like baking anything elaborate, and are looking for a quick fix for a craving! Though ofcourse, don't go by me, you can totally make this for company too!!!

Jam squares
Adapted from Allrecipes

6 oz [170 g] raspberry jam - Use whatever you have, I used about 4 oz. of raspberry, and 2 oz. of pineapple! I preferred the pineapple!
1 c [120 g] chopped walnuts
2 1/4 [285 g] flour
1 c [245 g] sugar
1 c [225 g / 2 sticks] butter - I used 3/4 cup, or 1 and 1/2 stick


INSTRUCTIONS -

1. Preheat oven to 180 C [350 F]. Grease a 9x11 pan, or divide into 2 smaller pans for different fillings.
2. Let butter come to room temperature, and then combine together all ingredients except the jam.
3. Press 3/4 of the mixture into the pan, so that it forms a kind of crust.
4. This is where you can go crazy. Add whatever jam, filling etc you want to use, just make sure to leave an 1/2 inch border along the sides.
5. Sprinkle the rest of the mixture on top.
6. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
7. Cool, and then cut into bars!
   

Aren't they tempting you? I'm off to eat what's left of them!!

Crunchy Chocolate Bars

I just bought a new book, Leiths Baking Bible at my local bookstore. I was pretty excited, since getting good cookbooks over here is quite a task!! I had to try out the book, and the crunchy chocolate bars just popped out to me! They seemed perfect, and super-easy!! And plus, it would use up the last of the super-huge box of oats I bought to make my favorite chocolate chip cookies!

The bars tasted soo good. I halved the recipe, and wished I hadn't. They got over within hours!!! And the best part was, the recipe took like just 5 minutes to prepare, before going into the oven!! It looked so good going into the oven -








Crunchy Chocolate Bars
Adapted from Leiths Baking Bible


2 sticks [225 g, 8 oz.] butter
3/4 cup [140 g, 5 oz.] light brown sugar
1 cup [140 g, 5 oz.] self-raising flour - I substituted using 1 c A.P flour + 1 tsp. b. powder + 1/4 tsp b. soda
1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 cup [85 g, 3 oz] porridge oats
3/4 cup [85 g, 3 oz] crushed corn flakes

To finish -
140 g, 5 oz milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces


Instructions -

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F [180 C]. Grease and line a 11 x 7 inch tin lined with parchment. [ I didn't use]
   
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, until pale and fluffy.
3. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and cocoa.
4. Add to the butter mixture.
5. Then add the oats and corn flakes. Mix well.
6. The batter will be very dry.
7. Press into the prepared tin [a potato masher will help], and bake for about 20 mins.
8. The mixture should still be a little soft when in the oven.
9. Mark into 16 bars while still hot, then allow to cool completely in the tin.
10. Melt the chocolate in a using a bain marie [I melted in the microwave]
11. Spread over the bars. When the chocolate has set, cut the bars into pieces.