Bar Baking Goodness - Fat Witch Bakery cookbook find!

Okay, so this past weekend ended up being a "working" weekend around the house. Lawns mowed, 5 loads of laundry, baths cleaned, 3 bags of hand-me-down clothes sorted and packed away, floors swept, carpets vacuumed, garage cleaned, cars vacuumed, clutter picked-up (this is a job in itself with two little destroyers taking stuff out right behind me and a dog who feels the need to add her toys to the mix, hourly)... and somehow I found some time to bake!

I'm borrowing The Fat Witch Bakery cookbook from my local library (a great way to try out cookbooks before buying), and I must say, I'm becoming a fan. What could be better for a working mom than a book on easy bar-cookies that are GOOD? I might wonder why I even bother, when apparently simply not messing up a high-quality boxed brownie mix is met with rave reviews by family, friends, and coworkers alike (btw - do yourself a favor and buy Ghirardelli or Duncan Hines when going boxed).

http://www.fatwitch.com/FWBcookbook.html

Interestingly, my husband, who forgoes all baked goods except a good brownie or sugar cookie, has his doubts about the recipes -- I say he has no vision, and many look worth trying!

I made the "rocky road" brownie recipe, which my two young kids "helped" make by sampling every version of chocolate, peanut butter chips, and mini marshmallows going into the mix.

Highly satisfying and totally easy --  and very recommended for busy would-be bakers everywhere. I love reading cookbooks with challenging recipes and daydreaming about attempting them, but somehow life happens and I rarely have the 3 hours of necessary undivided attention to do them at this stage in the game!

The Congo Bar recipe also gave good results, which I made and brought to an office function yesterday. I've made these before with slight variations (aka "Magic Cookie Bar"), but I think this one had some improvements to the graham cracker crust. You have to like coconut for this one, though I substituted some butterscotch chips for the walnuts, knowing my crowd is disappointingly anti-nut.

I'm all for easy, ACTUAL homemade recipes that yield quality results! I'll try a few more this weekend (must try the one that the Fat Witch empire was built upon) and see what the ungrateful husband thinks.  :-)