A few weeks before Christmas I attended a really fun and well-organized event at my grandchildren’s grade school in Pennsylvania. It was a craft fair – but the kids all got to MAKE the crafts, all of which they could give away as gifts, if they so desired. Among the choices were a Christmas ornament, a really cute little pin with beads and a snowflake (which I was given for Christmas!) and “Snowman Soup”, which was made of instant cocoa mix, some marshmallows and a Hershey’s kiss, with a little candy cane tossed in for a stirrer – yummy!!. The table where you could make the always-popular Cookie Mix in a Jar was one of the busiest – and I was lucky enough to receive two of those!!
As my sons can attest, I’m not a very good cookie-baker. I tend to over-bake them, for some reason. Once, while chatting with a friend on the phone, I banged a cookie on the counter and asked her to guess what it was. She said, “A hammer?” “No”, I replied, just a tad embarrassed, “It’s a cookie!”
With my many cookie failures in mind, I decided to make “bars” with the two containers of cookie mix – and I’m glad I did. The bars turned out dense and moist, and, dare I say “hearty” due to the addition of the oatmeal. As a finishing touch, and, because there’s no walnuts in the mix.. AND … because you can never have too much chocolate, I melted a cup of morsels, spread them over the cooked bars and then sprinkled on chopped walnuts. Enjoy!
Oven at 350 30 minutes 10′ x 13′ pan Makes 32 bars… 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″
Ingredients – don’t worry about “leveling” the dry ingredients. At the craft fair, they don’t bother (or have the time).
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 cups NOT PACKED brown sugar
- 1 cup oatmeal – not instant
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 stick butter (1/2 cup) – remove packaging, microwave on high for 30 secs.
- 3 eggs
- 1 Tbs. hot water
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 Tbs. Crisco
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
In a medium-sized bowl, place all the dry ingredients. Then add the softened butter, 3 eggs, 1 Tbs. hot water and 2 tsp. vanilla.
Spread the batter evenly in the 10″ x 13″ pan. I give you my permission to use your fingers, which will get really, really sticky but you can always lick the dough from them once you’re done mixing. (I’m a big proponent of using (clean) hands when dealing with thick cookie doughs.)
Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. The bars will be golden brown and a bit “bumpy” looking.
In a microwavable bowl or glass measuring cup, place 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 Tbs. Crisco – microwave on high for 1 minutes. Take out and stir. Then microwave again – but this time for only 30 seconds. Spread the chocolate glaze evenly over the bars. Sprinkle with the 1/2 cups chopped walnuts. Allow bars to cool, then cut with a sharp knife into 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2 ” squares. Enjoy!
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