There’s a lot to be said for doing/creating what you love. Whether as a career, as a hobby, or even in what you prepare in the kitchen, that sense of joy which only comes from willing purpose or accomplishment is key.
Trust me on this one. As one who possesses a disastrous attention span, yet a creative spirit which has been said to be in a state of perpetual overdrive, I can safely attest to this. The fact that you’re reading these words is my testimony to this sentiment. Do I make money from this? No. Am I a professional? No. My love for all things food-related, as well as the written word are what compel me to put fingertip to keystroke, and a hope that maybe someone somewhere will glean something from my prattle.
Accomplishment doesn’t need to be synonymous with elaborate. In fact, the simplest, almost seemingly stupid efforts can often yield the greatest accolades. Don’t believe me? Remember that school project you busted your ass on? You stayed up late at night perfecting your diorama, sugar-cube castle, potato-powered lightbulb, and the kid who got all the attention was the one who rubbed a balloon on his head and stuck it to a wall. Meanwhile your potato did little more than ooze starch and attract flies. Or as I mentioned in the previous post: kids who play with the box the expensive toy came in.
Which brings us to todays post.
On occasion my husband takes treats in for his coworkers. Usually it’s as a form of enticement to lure people into one of his teaching sessions. He would often be up, late at night, scouring through recipe books, and would then disappear in a dense cloud of flour and icing sugar. Emerging only sometime after midnight, with a pan of sugary bribery cooling on the counter.
He got great reviews, but as with all things, there were the naysayers: “I could do this better…” “Oh yeah, well I make a _____ which is amazing…”
The gauntlet was thrown down. A friendly bake-off was suggested, and my hubby promptly found himself in a very distracted room of inattentive, tittering, scheming would-be bakers.
Cut to the night before said bake-off. Hubber was tired, and uninspired. Every recipe in the “dress to impress” repertoire required a few hours of time which would inevitably cut in on the precious downtime of the eve.
I threw this little suggestion his way as a saviour of sanity, sleep and effort.
Hello Dolly Bars
½ cup butter
1 cup graham crumbs
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup coconut
1 cup walnuts
1 can sweetened condensed milk
First of all you’ll want to make a crust. The butter and graham crumbs listed above are for making a quick graham crust. If you’re feeling somewhat ambitious, I’d recommend making a shortbread base instead, and partially baking it before adding the other toppings (as shown here).
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| *patpatpatpatpat* |
If proceeding with the graham version, melt the butter, mix with graham crumbs and pat into a 9x13 inch baking pan.
Next scatter the chocolate, coconut and nuts over the base. Most recipes encourage you to do it in layers, but I like to mix them together in a bowl first, and add the condensed milk to the mixture. If you prefer the layer option, simply do so, then pour the condensed milk evenly over the top.
Bake at 350° for about 25 minutes, or until the condensed milk has bronzed itself into caramel.
Please also note that there is absolute flexibility in these ingredients. Pecans often replace the walnuts. Sometimes butterscotch chips make up about half the chip ratio. Just have a good quantity of your fillers on hand and it’s kinda hard to go wrong.
By the way, he won. Which I take as “WE won”. Credit where credit is due, after all.
Yum!
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