Candy Bar Bars

If, like me, you can't resist the lure of halloween chocolate, this could be a great idea. Make all of the chocolate into a cookie-type bar, and hand them out to friends! Those bars may be small, but a pound of chocolate is a pound of chocolate, and opening hundreds of wrappers isn't the best way to burn those extra calories! I found this recipe at cookie madness, but I'm not sure where it originated.

Candy Bar Bars

12 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats, quick cooking type
1 egg
1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk (not evaporated milk)
4 cups chopped candy bars – a mixture of Reese’s and Snickers works well

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 15×10 inch ridged metal pan (jelly roll) with parchment paper or non-stick foil.
In large bowl, combine butter and peanut butter; add brown sugar, vanilla and baking soda and beat well. Stir in flour and oats. Set aside about 1 1/3 cups of the peanut butter mixture.
Stir egg into remaining peanut butter mixture in bowl. Using wet hands, pat into a baking pan – the layer will seem pretty thin and you’ll probably worry that you don’t have enough cookie batter to cover the bottom and use for topping. But don’t worry. Bake for 15 minutes.
Pour condensed milk over the crust. Stir together reserved peanut butter mixture and chopped candy bars; sprinkle over all and don’t get too tied up in using exactly 4 cups of candy. Use more, use less.
Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown. Set on a cooling rack and cool completely. When bars are absolutely, completely cool, go ahead and cut. Store leftovers loosely covered at room temperatures.

4 Dozen Bars

Mine aren't out of the oven yet, but once they're cooled and cut, they're heading out the door. I'll just save enough for the family to have a taste. Now to find something to do with hard candy.....