Tuesday, January 19, 2010

TWD: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost Candy Bars

Raisins. Mushrooms. Green onions. Seaweed.
These are the foods I really don't like. There are more, but let's leave it at these 4 for now. This recipe called for raisins, but it also called for peanuts and cinnamon. I don't dislike peanuts and cinnamon, but they're not my favourites, either, so I left them out. What was I left with? Oatmeal, butter, brown sugar, chocolate, vanilla, salt and condensed milk. I can quite happily live with that. I replaced the chocolate chips with some dark, bittersweet chocolate, as other TWDers had commented on the powerful sweetness of these bars. Mine were not too sweet and I was quite happy with them. They taste like the oat fudge bars you can buy at Starbucks, except they're homemade. And that's a good thing.
This week's recipe was chosen by Lillian of Confectiona's Realm. Check out her blog for the recipe and also the TWD blogroll to see what everyone else has come up with.

38 comments:

natalia said...

Ciao ! Very well done ! I wish I used bitter chocolate too !!

Katrina said...

Ooh, yum! These bars are just too dangerous for me. I used pecans and caramel instead of peanuts and raisins!

Sabrina said...

I left the raisins out of mine... Your bars turned out really nice!

chocolatechic said...

I didn't add raisins either, or the cinnamon, but I did add something to the topping.

Becky @ Project Domestication said...

i added dried craisins and loved it! I really enjoyed this recipe and used bittersweet chocolate too!

Tia said...

yours look awesome! the chocolate layer looks perfect.

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

mmm I think these would have been delicious without the items you listed. :)

Jennifer said...

Your bars look amazing!

These were delicious! And I omitted the raisins, too!

Jeannette said...

mmm they look great!!

Kaitlin said...

I debated leaving out the peanuts too, so it's good to know how it turns out without them! Your bars look really tasty. Yum.

Anonymous said...

Your opening line definitely provoked a reaction from me. Those foods you don't like, particularly combined, would make one heck of a casserole.

It sounds like you did a great job weeding out the things you don't like to create a streamlined and still delicious bar!

Flourchild said...

I left those nasty little raisins out too!!;) I thought they were wonderful with walnuts and pecans. Im not much of a peanut lover either. Your bars look gorgeous!

Emily Rose said...

yum! I think I'll use dark chocolate next time I make these because the condensed milk does make them a tad sweet with regular semi-sweet choc. I actually love raisins but didn't know if they'd really be tasty in these bars!

Amy of Sing For Your Supper said...

I am with you on the raisins thing! Yuck! These really look great - I love your first picture!

-Amy
www.singforyoursupperblog.com

Jules Someone said...

Those look delicious! We enjoyed it with the raisins. Ah well.

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

Very pretty - love how your top layer came out! :)

alvarosa said...

Seems like it was not your week, with all the ingredients you don't like... Fine you found a way to still make it! Looks like you enjoyed them nevertheless

Shandy said...

I was so relieved after getting past your first 4 words. I was wondering if you put all four of those ingredients in your bars then started laughing. My day must be starting out slow after getting past the holiday weekend!
Well, I love your ingredients you were left using. The bars 'do' have a fudgy look to them and I am glad to hear you enjoyed the flavor too.

The Mortensens said...

Your pictures look great! I think these little bars are quite flexible--add or subtract a few ingredients and they still turn out great!

Cindy said...

What a fun treat this was! Many ways to personalize it. Next time I want to try dried cherries and pecans!

Hindy said...

Sounds like a delicious variation! I could have done without the raisins too.

Cakelaw said...

These would be great even without the peanuts and raisins - it's that fudgy filling of chocolate and condensed milk that is the star, in my view. These look delish.

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

They look terrific. They would be great in an assortment of cookies.

Melissa said...

I'm with you on the mushrooms and seaweed! :-) Your bars look great!

Dinners & Dreams said...

mmm, that thick chocolate in the middle is so tempting! I wish I could have that for dessert right now!

Nisrine

Heather said...

You made some really creative changes. I used cranberries instead of raisins - I think that reduced some of the sweetness.

Anonymous said...

Your simplified version sounds great! I like your idea to sub some of the chocolate with bittersweet.

vibi said...

LOL LOL Raisins and mushroom are some of my favorite foods, okay, just not together! LOL The clash of the titans! LOL

Well raisins or not, you seem to have mastered this one pretty nicely!

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

This was one of my favorite Dorie recipes so far! Thanks so much for stopping by my place and leaving your comment, Mary!

Kindly, ldh

Jacque said...

Thankfully, there were enough ingredients that leaving out a few still turned out a pretty good bar. I like the bottom layer of yours, looks crunchy and delish!

TeaLady said...

HHMMM!!!! no nuts at all. I will have to try that.

Love the side shot with the layers and oatmeal showing.

Teanna said...

I'm glad that you liked the dark chocolate addition! I was wondering why Dorie went with semi-sweet, but I actually liked it because the chocolate was not too overpowering! Will have to try these with dark chocolate next!

judy said...

Another delicious treat Mary. Just wondering if figs would work here....or not.

Judy

PheMom said...

I too think I would really like them without the peanuts and cinnamon - just chocolatey covered oatmeal bars wouldn't be a bad thing at all - yum!

NKP said...

They look yummy!

Leslie said...

I think I'm going to follow your lead and leave out the raisins next and sub bittersweet chocolate. These were just too sweet for me (but refining them might make them impossible to resist.) Yours look terrific...and yummy!

Lillian said...

I agree with you on the raisins and mushrooms, although not the scallions (and I've never tried seaweed). But I loved these cookies without the raisins. Thanks for baking with me this week!

Anonymous said...

I had to laugh when I read your first line of your post! I was wondering where you were going with that! I have to admit, I don't like raisins either but I do like green onions, mushrooms, and seaweed!
Your cookies look yummy - I love that I can see the oats in the cookie layer! =)