Quick bars

Life has gotten busy since my last post.  Mike and I got married (and used all those lovely blue bottles from the last post at our reception) and now have a beautiful baby girl!  I have kept cooking and want to share some of my new favorite recipes.

This last Sunday was the Super Bowl.  I don't know much about football, but I do know that was depressing for the Broncos. Either way, watching the Super Bowl means eating food.  We were invited to a party, and when I asked who was bringing dessert, the answer was no one. Being my mother's daughter, I couldn't just make 1 desert.  No, I had to offer choices.  3 of them that is!

 Here they are!  Peanut butter gems, chocolate butterscotch bars, and pecan pie bars.

 Peanut Butter gems have always been a favorite of mine.  They remind me of trips up to Nova Scotia to visit my older sister.  Her mother in law,  Debbie, made them and I absolutely loved them!

P.B. layer:
1 Cup melted butter
1 Cup peanut butter
2 Cups finely ground Graham crackers
2 Cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt

Chocolate layer:
1 1/2 Cups chocolate chips

Mix together p.b. layer ingredients.  Press into 9x13 pan.  Melt chocolate chips in microwave (30 second intervals) and pour over top.  Refrigerate until set.

Chocolate/butterscotch and pecan pie bars.  I love pecan pie and hoped I could make a bar. Theses are the product of my imagination, a cross between my favorite lemon bar (the crust) and my pecan pie and brown sugar cookie pie recipes.  They start out exactly the same:

Crust:
2 Cups flour
1 Cup butter
1/2 Cup sugar

The gooey layer:
6 1/2 TBS melted butter
4 eggs
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 Cups sugar
1 Cup light corn syrup

The topping:
Pecans OR chocolate chips and butterscotch chips - probably 2 Cups total for either recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix together crust ingredients.  Press in to bottom of 9x13 pan. Bake 20 minutes.
3. Combine ingredients for gooey layer. I like to pub it all in my Ninja!
4. Sprinkle the crust with either pecans or chips - make sure there is a single layer covering crust completely.
5. Pour gooey layer over top. Make sure all the topping has been coated. If using pecans, get will float up during the baking process.
6. Bake 20 to 25 minutes -or until just barely giggly. Turn off oven.  Leave until cooled.

When making these, I cheated a little bit. I used 2 smaller baking dishes and divided the crust in half. I then made one of each type of bar and divided the gooey layer over them. This way, I could make a greater variety of dessert quickly!

Enjoy! I know I have!