For some reason, my mom's “Fudge Nut Bars” have stuck in my memory, though she hasn't made them in YEARS. 2 years ago I asked her for the recipe, and she sent it to me. I was fun to learn that it came from my middle school home-ec teacher in 1984: she must have gotten it when my oldest brothers were at good-old Wylie. I didn't make the cookies until now because they make an 11×14 pan of deliciousness. Yipes, thats a lot of cookies. But this weekend I had an excuse: the 8th annual Euchre for Toques party. They were well received. A good thing to keep in mind when you need a whole mess of easy treats but want something a little different than a drop cookie. I made a few modifications. I think next time I'll try only 1 1/2 c. brown sugar, but 1 3/4 definitely works well!Fudge Nut Bars
Filling:
12 oz chocolate chips, or bitter sweet chocolate, chopped
1 T. cocoa (optional)
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (previously listed as 1 cup)
2 T butter
1/2 t salt
Cookie:
14 T butter
1 3/4 C Brown Sugar
2 eggs
2t vanilla
2-1/2 C Flour
3 C oatmeal
3/4 t soda
1 t salt
1C chopped nuts (walnuts are ideal), optional
Preheat oven to 325.
Filling: Melt all ingredients, set aside to cool.
Cookie: Beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, aprox. 3 min. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Separately, mix flour (I used whole wheat), oats, soda and salt. Mix into butter mixture. Press 2/3 of cookie mixture into a large 11 x 14″ greased pan. Pour chocolate mixture over. Add nuts to the remaining cookie mixture and crumble on top of chocolate. Bake 20-25 min. until golden.
Cut once cooled. I like to cut them into 2″ squares, or a little smaller, then cut in half on the diagonal. Yes, I have a thing for triangles.