Revel Bars

I'm really not much in the kitchen when it comes to cooking. I need recipes, specific instructions (pictures help, which is what got me addicted to Pioneer Woman) and time to fix whatever problems I have caused.

Baking is another story. I love baking. For my parents Christmas party last year, I made 16 different kinds of cookies/bars. I started baking and freezing 6 weeks ahead of time. Its not that I don't often have disasters but I'm just a bit more comfortable with baking than looking into the refrigerator and coming up with a meal.

A big hit and an easy recipe are Revel Bars adapted from a Better Home and Gardens recipe.

Here we go, P-dub style.


Revel Bars (here is the link to the recipe in Tasty Kitchen- don't forget to try 'em and rate 'em)


Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Lets start with 1 cup (or 2 sticks) of softened butter.
Set aside 2 tbs and and beat the remaining butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds.



Add 2 cups brown sugar and 1 tsp of baking soda.

Can I just say that if your local grocer sells brown sugar in the bag, get it. This brown sugar in a box gets hard and clumpy. The brown sugar in a bag stays soft and fluffy... if brown sugar can be fluffy.



Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Now, these were not the beaters I intended to use but I couldn't find the other ones. And I can't remember what these ones are for.... whipping things? Anyone?



Add 2 eggs. Eeewww! Raw eggs are icky. Gross.

Beat in the eggs.


Remember that you were supposed to add 2 tsp vanilla. Don't skimp on the vanilla, its only 2 tsp. Add that in and beat it again.

Measure out 2 and 1/2 cups of flour and beat in as much as you can.

~insert picture of floury mix~

I usually toss all the flour in and beat until its almost blended in with the wet.



Throw in 3 cups of quick-cooking rolled oats. Mix! Stir! Mix! Jab! Stir!

As a child this would be the time I hand the cookie dough over to mom. This is supposed to be fun, not hard manual labor!



It should look like this! Do you remember me being grossed out by the raw egg? Really? Because at this point I completely forget about raw egg, grab a spoon, dip into this mess, top it off with chocolate chips and eat 12 cookies worth of dough.



Take off your rings and put them in a "safe" place because you wouldn't want to get them goopy.



Dump the oatmeal dough into a 15 x 10 x 1 inch pan (or something close) (or 2 smaller pans) and press it down across the bottom.

***If it sticks to your fingers or spatula you can lightly spray it with Pam. Then just smooth it out with a spatula or even better- a metal spoon

Set the pan aside.



Chop some nuts... I used walnuts but I love this with pecans. You need 1/2 cup.



Now for the topping. Start with 1 can (14 oz) of La Lechera aka. Sweetened Condensed Milk.



In a medium sauce pan combine the reserved butter, 1 and 1/2 cups of semisweet chocolate pieces and the whole can of sweetened condensed milk. Just dump it in.

Stir over low heat until the chocolate melts. Don't go wandering away, I've found that if you don't keep stirring the chocolate stuck to the bottom will burn.



Turn off the heat and add 2 tsp of vanilla. Of course it needs more vanilla! Stir until its combined.



Pour the chocolate on top and spread it out.



Add those chopped nuts evenly across the top. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.

Start doing the dishes while your bars cook.

Suddenly realize you don't have your ring on! Panic!



Look down at dishes and cry. Start splashing dirty dish water everywhere!

Realize you put your rings in a very "safe" place. And then you took a picture of "safe" place.

Make a mental note to do some brain exercises... whatever that means.



Pull out the heavenly bars and cool on a wire rack and then cut into bars! Recipe is supposed to make 60. Yes 60!

I couldn't wait for them to cool completely....



In general, if a dessert is going to be served individually I make larger portions. If its going to be left out for people to snack on I always, always do leetle bars. I have found people are much more likely to take 5 little pieces than to eat 2 big pieces.

And by "people", I mean "me". Enjoy!