Butterscotch Bars

This is another one of Kim's beach dishes that was a total smash hit. Her dad (my brother-in-law Gerry) is Canadian by birth, and he tells me that Canadians love butterscotch. (I must have some Canadian blood somewhere in my lineage, because I'm a butterscotch slut. It was always my favorite Life Savers flavor and sundae topping growing up.)

I digress.

Kim found this delight on Jamie Cooks It Up, and I don't know how Jamie was able to cut hers so nicely -- but I'll go ahead and tell you that even though ours didn't look as though they were sliced with the precision found in God's Kitchen Itself, that didn't affect the flavor AT ALL. (When your rental house at the beach only has air conditioning for 46 percent of your vacation week and it's 98 degrees outside, your baked goods revolt. PRO TIP.)

See that base layer? It's like a shortbread? It might BE shortbread for all I know. I'm not a professional baker. What I AM is a semi-professional taster, and I can tell you that that part tastes like heaven. Absolute heaven.

Butterscotch Bars

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes 
Yield: 20-30 bars, depending on how big you cut them 

Ingredients

2 C butter, melted

4 C flour

1 C sugar

dash salt

2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

1 (12 ounce) package white chocolate chips

1 (12 ounce) package butterscotch chips

1 (12 ounce) package milk chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place 2 C butter in a large mixing bowl and melt it in the microwave. I know this seems like a ton of butter, but remember the recipe makes a lot.

3. Add 4 C flour, 1 C sugar and a dash of salt to the melted butter. With a wooden spoon, mix it together to form a crumbly dough.

4. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray (mine is 17 1/2 x 12 1/2). Press half of the dough into the pan.

5. Bake the crust for 7 minutes.

6. While the crust is baking place 1/2 a (12 ounce) bag of white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and milks chocolate chips into a large sauce pan.

7. Add 2 (14 ounce) cans to the pan and stir to combine.

8. Place the pan on the stove top over medium high heat and melt the ingredients together, stirring constantly.

9. When the crust has cooked for the allotted time, pour the smooth chocolate mixture out evenly over the top of it.

10. Sprinkle the remaining dough mixture over the top of the chocolate layer.

11. Sprinkle the remaining white chocolate, butterscotch and milk chocolate chips over the dough.

12. Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes.

13. Allow the bars to cool completely then pop the pan into the fridge so the chocolate will set up nicely for you. Once the bars are set, cut them into squares or rectangles.

If you have any self-respect, please go visit Jamie Cooks It Up so you can see her pretty pictures of these delicious bars.  :-)  Maybe she uses a pizza slicer? Or perhaps she just has air-conditioning. I REALLY AM DYING TO KNOW.