Oh my goodness, you are going to love this recipe. Not only are they easy to make and relatively quick, they’re also scrumpdiddlyumptious. (yes that’s a made up word) My mother made these bars when I was growing up and I made them for my own children. It’s like bringing another piece of my past with me to the future. I hope my kids will make them for their children, too.
So, let’s get cooking!
Using your mixer, cream the sugar and butter together.
Add the Karo syrup, vanilla, and oats. If you’d like to, you can use the mixer to blend in the Karo and vanilla, then use a wooden spoon to mix in the oats.
Grease a 9 X 13” baking dish and press the oat mixture into the pan. It’s going to be sticky, so here’s a little tip: spray a rubber spatula with cooking spray and then use it to pat the oat mixture down into the pan.
Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 15 minutes exactly, no more and no less. Cool for ten minutes.
While that is baking, you can make the topping. Simply put the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a small saucepan and melt over medium heat. I don’t use a double boiler; besides the fact that I don’t own one, it’s easier to just heat it and stay with it, stirring, for the few minutes it takes to melt and blend together. You can be a little heavy handed with the chocolate chips and peanut butter, but what would I know about that; I always follow a recipe to the letter of the law. Bwahahahahaha! ;)
When the oat mixture bottom has cooled for 10 minutes, pour the chocolate-peanut butter mixture on top and spread evenly. When completely cooled and set, cut into 24 pieces. You can help the process along by placing in the refrigerator for a while, but these bars don’t need to be stored in the fridge.
I gave my 9 year old two of these for dessert and he begged for a third. Yours will too! Enjoy! ~TMMF
O’Henry Bars
2/3 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
½ c. light Karo syrup
3 tsp. vanilla
4 c. quick cooking rolled oats
6 oz. (1 c.) chocolate chips
2/3 c. crunchy peanut butter
*Notes: Use real butter. Paula Deen has it right with the butter thing. ;) Margarine is like putting plastic into your veins, but butter is a “whole” food. Don’t pack the brown sugar down. I stopped doing that decades ago. You don’t need the extra sugar, and trust me on this, it’ll be sweet enough. Use natural sugars if you can. If you want it to be really awesome, use natural peanut butter (Teddy and Smuckers both make it with just peanuts and salt). Your recipe will have less sugar in it and taste better. These are just some things I have learned from decades of cooking, messing around with recipes, and creating my own recipes in both the home and professionally in restaurants and nursing homes. Just take these little nuggets and run with them. ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment