Fudge Nut Bars (Fudge Jumble Bars?)

Goin' to a potluck picnic today, and these are going with me!

If you like cookies and fudge, you will like this bar recipe.  It's a little "putzy" to make, but it's a favorite!  (And, ...it makes a WHOLE LOT of bars!!!)

Originally, and many years ago,  I clipped this recipe from the Agri-View farm paper.  It was submitted by a mother who was planning to sell a "family cookbook" in memory of her daughter who was killed while driving "back to college".  It was such a sad story, but I loved how the mother said they'd had so many special times while cooking and baking together.



INGREDIENTS for the bottom 'cookie dough' layer--

• 1 cup butter (room temperature)
• 2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats (I use old-fashioned oats)
• 2 and 1/2 cups sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS for making the bottom 'cookie dough' layer:

Cream together the cup of butter and brown sugar.  Mix in eggs (one at a time) and the 2 teaspoons vanilla.  Sift together four, baking soda and salt; stir in rolled oats.  Now add the sifted mixture of flour, baking soda and salt.  Stir only long enough to incorporate.  SET  THIS ASIDE while you prepare the 'fudge filling' below.
~~~~

INGREDIENTS for fudge filling:

• 1 of 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts 

DIRECTIONS for making the fudge filling:

In a saucepan over boiling water (or in microwavable bowl), mix together chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, butter and salt.  Stir until chocolate chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; stir in the vanilla and chopped nuts* (see my note at the bottom).  IF you do use the microwave for this, please check and stir after each ONE-minute of time.

~~~~

Now!!! ...The instructions for putting it all together:

Spread about 2/3 of the 'cookie dough' batter in bottom of a generously greased or sprayed 15.5 x 10.5-inch jelly roll pan. (It won't seem like there's enough dough to cover the pan, but eventually it's accomplished.  In fact, I have better luck if I begin by dropping very little globs of this dough in all different areas of the greased pan before starting to spread it out with my "wetted" fingers.)

Carefully cover that layer with the fudge filling.  Now, using the remaining 1/3 of the 'cookie dough', take tiny pieces (1/2" size?) of it and drop it on the fudge layer as evenly as you can.  Once I put the little dabs of reserved "cookie dough" mixture on top, I use two little "pointy" kinds of things and gently spread the "dabs" out... just a little... it will end up looking a lot like this, and have SOME "bare spots" showing the fudge layer...

Bake in 350-degree oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until the top 'droppings' are lightly browned.  In my oven, it took just 25 minutes and came out looking like this...

Cool completely before cutting.  

Makes almost 6 dozen bars.

Below:   I put a sheet of parchment paper between each layer of bars.  Cover 'em up...these are all ready to go to today's potluck picnic!

* I like to keep the nuts out when I'm making the fudge layer and then gently press them evenly into the fudge layer once that layer is spread onto the "cookie dough" layer.  AFTER the nuts are "in place", I add the dabs of dough over all.)  

Fruity Angel Food Cake

Angel food cake, fruit and whipped cream!

Way back in the early 60's when I was in high school and there was actually a class called Home Economics, this kind of cake was an 'assignment' for our group of 4-6.  Since it didn't take that many hands to get this done, most of us ended up just watching-- but, ALL of us enjoyed the finished product (the next day).

Fruity desserts like this seem to be extra 
light and refreshing even in the dead of Winter!

Ingredients:

1 of 10-inch angel food cake (I made mine from a box mix).
1 pint fresh fruit (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, etc.).  You could use a 10-12 oz. container of frozen berries, like I did, and set a few aside (blot them dry to use for garnishment).
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream (OR whipped topping?)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4-6 drops of red food coloring, optional (I also used just 3 drops, plus a very small amount of the raspberry juice left in the bowl).

DIRECTIONS:

• Bake angel food cake according to directions, and completely cool.
• While the cake is cooling, add the 1/2 cup sugar to the berries and crush them a bit (saving some berries back for top garnishment).  Set aside.

• When cake is fully cooled, remove from pan and gently de-crumb its surface with the edge of a knife or whatever else would work for this.  If you don't want a darker crumb to be underneath the finished dessert, you can gently/carefully slice that off, too, at this point-- it's the part that is 'on the bottom' in this next picture.

• Working at the top of the cake (which was the bottom when it was baking!) and with a very sharp knife, cut (saw?) two vertical slits at 1-inch intervals around the top of cake, between the center and rim, cutting through cake from top to 'almost the bottom'. 

 

• Carefully, hold slits apart and insert berries into them.  You could use a table knife to help get the berries lower into the openings, but that may not be necessary. Then, spoon any left-over juice evenly over berries in the openings.

• Whip cream with sugar, vanilla and food coloring (I opted to use some of the berry juice to color the cream).
• Cover entire cake with cream, using spatula or piping bag.

Garnish with some 'saved' fruit...

• Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.  Slice and .........enjoy!