southern fried gal

As promised, here is the recipe for the super YUMMY cookie bars we shared with our neighbors this week. It’s an easy recipe, not too expensive and fun for the kids! I wish I had take a picture of the inside of the bars. There are three layers and the inside is fudgy – super yum! Enjoy!

M&M Fudgy Oat Bars

2 1/2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups M&M candies, divided
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Combing first 5 ingredients, stirring well. Add butter and beat at a low speed with electric mixer until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of mixture and press remaining mixture into a lightly greased 9×13 inch pan. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven to 350.

Place 1 cup M&M’s in a microwave safe bowl, microwave on HIGH 1 minute, stirring at 30 seconds. Press M&M’s with the back of a spoon to mash them. (They will almost be melted with pieces of color coating still visible.) Stir in condensed milk. Spread evenly over crust leaving a 1/2 inch border on all sides.

Combine reserved 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture and remaining 1/2 cup M&M’s. Sprinkle evenly over chocolate mixture and press lightly. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Yield: 2 dozen. Prep: about 20 minutes. Cook: about 35 minutes.

Note: I adapted this recipe from a Hallmark Holiday Cookie cookbook printed by Oxmoor House.

There’s still time to join the final week of Practice Hospitality!

~Southern Fried Gal

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This post linked to the following:

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam: Tasty Tuesday