Sunday, January 30, 2011

A rocky start to a new year

Good lord, it's been a while. I apologize for the lack of posting. If I could go back and start 2011 over again, believe me, I would. And what's great when your new year sucks? Cookies. Lots and lots of cookies.

I saw this recipe awhile back on many different websites (homesick texan and smitten kitchen to name a few). Since I had several bags of coconut and 2 pounds of pecans leftover from holiday baking, I bookmarked it for January use. So, here we go~

Hello Dolly Bars, adapted from everywhere

1 1/2 cups crushed cinnamon graham crackers (about 8 graham crackers)
2 cups of chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups of shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups of chopped pecans
1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup of butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (or you know, whatever I can get my stupid oven to get to these days. Can I move yet?).
Melt your butter and pour it directly into an 8x8 cake pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs into pan, and mix well with melted butter to form a crust. Layer on chocolate chips -


- then coconut -


- then pecans.


Pour the can of condensed milk over everything.


Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top turns brown.


Let cool in pan for at least half an hour, cut into bars and serve.


Aren't the layers pretty? These were super easy. I thought I wasn't wild about them at first, but then I ate the whole pan over a few days time. They have a nice down home taste that was simple enough to make and was really satisfying. I recommend cutting them into small squares - otherwise they can be overwhelming.

More to come soon, I promise!