Gooey Bars

I was checking out the baking sites on Pinterest, because for once it’s cool enough to bake and not heat up the house to where I’m so hot I can’t breathe. In that regard it’s been a great summer so far.

After three years of sweltering hot summers, and after the brutal winter we endured, I think we were owed a season that is pleasurable. I’m speaking for my part of the world, because unfortunately I know the weather, with the floods and tornadoes has not been kind to others.

Back to the baking. I found a recipe that seemed to be similar to a date square…only without the dates and adding melted caramels. Sounds good right?

Anyway I made the base, out of flour, oatmeal and whatever, but didn’t have an 8x8 pan so I used the whole batch and spread it in my oblong pan. Oh, and I didn’t have caramels, but was going to substitute my peanut butter sauce, figured it was close. But by the time I got that all done, I didn’t feel like making the sauce. What to do, what to do.

I found a jar of jam and spread it all over the ‘hot-out-of-the-oven’ base. Now I needed the top layer. I had a mixture of flour, cinnamon, oats and butter, a topping left over from making muffins, and I sprinkled some of that over the jam.

Then I baked it some more. I gave samples to each of the kids, and it was a hit with my daughter’s family. I gave the sample to my son, when he was on his way to work, and he ate the whole thing through the course of his shift. I asked his wife how she liked the squares, and it’s no wonder she didn’t know what I was talking about.

Today I made brownies for my daughter’s birthday, to serve with ice cream and my peanut butter sauce. This is a favourite of hers. I have everything measured out and just need to finish the sauce. I took a break from writing this post for a moment to finish the sauce, it’s after seven in the evening and if I didn’t do it now it wouldn’t get made. So, I’m back and everything is ready for tomorrow.

Check out the original recipe.

http://www.averiecooks.com/2013/12/carmelitas.html