Don't say I never gave you nuthin

I hoped to write something... writerly for Friday, but the three or four writerly cells in my body are all, "WINE, PLEASE" (they ARE the writerly ones) and it's 10 pm and I still have to fold two loads of laundry and pack a bag to go to my mom's house so: yeaaah. Not so much with the writerliness tonight.

But that doesn't mean I leave you with nothing. Oh no.

Line a 13x9 inch pan with tin foil (hang it over the sides) and butter the bottom.

Cover the bottom of the pan in graham crackers. Don't crush them, just line them up and then fill in the gaps till you have a nice graham cracker layer.

Cook two sticks of butter and a cup of brown sugar till it boils. Pour over graham crackers. Bake in 400 degree oven for five minutes.

Pour some chocolate chips over the top. Wait till they melt. When they're soft, spread them out into a nice chocolate layer.

If you're feeling sassy, chop some walnuts and sprinkle those on top.

Stash in the fridge. Until you can't bear it anymore and must have a bite of 'Easy Toffee Bars' aka THIS MUST BE WHAT HEAVEN TASTES LIKE.

The girl who gave me the recipe added some specifics: 15 graham crackers, 6 oz of milk chocolate chips. But I didn't count the crackers and I used semi-sweet (and way more than 6 oz by the way) because it's all I had. I also probably overcooked the brown sugar and butter and I waited a really long time to bake it because the shorties were being sort of indignant about the lack of attention and needed some quality story/dancing/holding time stat. And after I eventually baked it and spread the chocolate out, some of it got mixed in with the toffee and you know what? IT STILL TASTED LIKE HEAVEN. So much so that I had to chop it all into tiny bite-sized pieces and hide it in the freezer lest I eat the entire pan. Of course, that just means I'm eating them frozen.

I've made about half the cookies I normally make by this point in December, but since I didn't think I'd manage to bake ANY, I'm feeling pretty accomplished. There are days when Phillip comes home from work and the house is a wreck and I fall all over myself telling him how impossible it was to get anything done. And then there are other days when my big kid naps and my little kid doesn't freak out if I put her in the bouncy seat and I can DO STUFF. If I was also able to eat lunch before 3 with both of my hands? THAT WAS A GOOD DAY.

I am looking forward to a weekend of grandparents wrangling the boy, catching up on the stack of magazines I neglected during my Vampire Phase, purchasing some sort of handmade Christmas knick knacky thing at my parents' smallish town Christmas festival and napping while Phillip takes some 'shopping alone time'. Feel free to ask for Phillip's email address if you'd like to send him any Gift Suggestions.

Comments

[lindsay]

I ate this for the first time this week at work. Phenomenal. I demanded the recipe on the spot. My butt also grew 2 inches on the spot, but still.

Good for you at being only at 50% cookie production/intake. I would reward myself with more wine. :)

[Jessica]

I make this same thing, but I use 40 saltines and a whole bag of chocolate chips (the regular ones, not milk). OH HOLY GOD it tastes so good. Oh and I use pecans. I was told to cook the butter and sugar for 3 minutes exactly.

[Jess]

OMG, I think I gained weight just from reading this post. It sounds so yummy.

[Tara]

I'm salivating. And wishing that I had graham crackers and chocolate chips in my pantry.

[Jennifer]

I was looking for a simple dessert I could make for a party this weekend and TA DA! you just gave it to me. I trust your word that it tastes like heaven... sounds good to me too. Thanks :)

[Allison]

I just made this and it is wonderful. Thank You! I halved the recipe since I have no self control and am going to a Christmas Party tonight and don't want to be ill.

[Charlotte]

To quote Tina Fey, "I want to go to there." You had me at toffee. Actually you had me at two sticks of butter.