Hello Dolly Bars

I had not even thought of Dolly Bars until I was reading the archives of Homesick Texan, one of my favorite recipe blogs. I grew up eating these rich, cavity inducing bars but have not had them since the 90's. One reason why I love the blog Homesick Texan is because it's a food field trip to my past. I decided to make Lisa's bars adding one ingredient and tweaking a few of the measurements. About 15 minutes after I popped them into the oven, I suddenly forgot the feeling you get when you realize you forgot an important item on your shopping list and the two trips I had to make to the grocery store.

The aroma of these bars baking is like nothing else. If you think brownies in the oven smell good, just wait until the marriage of sweet coconut, chocolate, pecans and buttery cinnamon fill your kitchen. I kept impatiently popping open the oven door to check out the pan under the guise of baking diligence.

Hello Dolly Bars Recipe (adapted from Homesick Texan)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups crushed cinnamon graham crackers
1 1/3 cups of chocolate chips
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup of chopped pecans

1 cup Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal

1 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup of butter

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
3. Pour melted butter into an 9 x 13 or 8x8 pan.
4. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs into the pan. Pour melted butter on top.  Mix well to form a crust.
5. Layer the following ingredients in this order: cereal, chocolate chips, coconut and pecans.
6. Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the pan evenly.
7. Bake in oven for 25. The top should be light brown. (Mine was a little too done, so you're aiming for a bit lighter.)
8. Let cool in pan for at least half an hour, cut into bars and serve.

This is such a rich dessert that I found myself wishing I had some vanilla bean ice cream to scoop on top. The bars definitely require a tall glass of milk. One quick tip-if you are taking them to a party or the office, cut small bites and put them in cupcakes liners, easier to eat and less messy.

In life news, I'm going to start setting up my new classroom for the first time today. (Did I mention that I'll be teaching middle school English this school year? I've taught 5th grade so long that this is a big switch for me. More on this later.) August is rapidly approaching no matter how much I don't want to acknowledge it.  The cicadas and commercials for school supplies won't let me live in my state of summer oblivion anymore. I still have things on my summer bucket list that have not been crossed off. Some of which include clean out the basement, take a float trip, and see a drive-in movie. Sadly, the basement will probably be the thing I procrastinate doing until it's too late and it gets added to summer 2013's list. What do you want to do before summer's over?