Cookie Bars

I can't be the only one not to post... Even though I was the last one. So here is a Pato recipe for you. We got tired of having to bake so many trays of cookies, so we decided to make cookie bars. A big hit at our house.

Disclaimer: Pato rarely uses recipes and he slightly changes the ingredients pretty much every time; but here is the base recipe.

3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter (one stick)
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup oats
1tsp salt
1tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder (if you feel like it, it's not necessary)
Chocolate chips (we mix in a few butterscotch chips sometimes too)

Standard cookie recipe here. Cream butter, shortening and sugar. Add eggs and mix. Add dry ingredients and mix. Tip: Mix in the chocolate chips by hand, a Kitchen aid will just smoosh them between the bowl and the mixing paddle. Take a small portion of the dough and give to any kids that helped.

Baking: This is where the fun begins. We have a convection oven and Pat cooks it at 320 degrees for about 25-28 minutes, depending on how it looks. I'm guessing that for a regular oven you could put the temp to 325 degrees and bake it for about 32-35 minutes or so (pull it out earlier if it burns).

Voila!! Cookie bars.

Hello Dollies

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of an 9x9 inch baking pan. Layer the chocolate chips, coconut and pecans over the crumbs. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool and cut into squares.