Happy Tuesday! Its raining here, but I have a cheerful pot of coffee on, Bar Cookie baking in the oven, my trusty sidekick Kasey the Wonder Dog, and a song in my heart!

Thank you again to my dear friend Maribeth Schmidt for her help in the photography today. I added a few of my own pictures that I had forgotten when she and I connected, but the most artistic and lovely are from her! If you would like to connect with Maribeth, you can see more of her work at Maribeth Schmidt Photography.

Don’t you just love it when you find those recipes that are super easy and super delicious? This is one of  those go to desserts that I have made so many times I could make it in my sleep! You know why? Because its absolutely delicious and oh so easy! Its a “One Pan Wonder”, that is correct, you only need one pan from start to finish!

So without any delay, lets begin!

• 1 stick of butter
• 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
• 1 14  oz can of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

*Note: You can buy graham cracker crumbs already in the crumb form, but if you don’t have those, you can crush graham crackers yourself.

Most Graham Cracker Boxes have 3 packets of graham crackers in them. One packet of the double graham crackers when crushed equals one cup of crumbs. So I crushed 1 double sized pack and one smaller pack. (We eat a lot of graham crackers in this house). I crush them right inside the wrappers they come in, it holds them steady and makes it easier and faster to crush.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter in a 9×13 pan in the oven.

Once melted, remove the pan from the oven and add in your crushed graham crackers. This will form the crust for your bar cookies.

Toss the crumbs in the butter, and spread them out in the pan to make the crust.

I use a fork and tap them down and in place. Next take your can of sweetened condensed milk, and pour it over the crust, pour slowly and in a drizzled motion and then come back over and capture any areas you missed to make a nice sticky layer to hold the remaining ingredients.

Now its time to add your toppings! Your bar cookie should start with the chips and end with the nuts and coconut.  Which one will you pick first? I usually start with the chocolate chips.

What a happy chore! Sprinkle on the other chips too!

Oh yes… and don’t forget the walnuts and coconut! I then take a fork and gently tap the ingredients down so they settle in nicely before baking!

Time to go in the oven! Just that easy!

A nice easy 20-25 minutes, or until the edges just start to get a nice golden brown. When you take it out of the oven, you can actually hear it bubbling!

Let it sit for a few minutes, and then slice and serve!

Drizzled with chocolate or with a big ole scoop of vanilla ice cream or straight up! This One Pan Wonder Bar Cookie is the perfect answer to “I want something homemade, sweet, delicious and fast!”

The ingredients are super easy to store on your shelf, too! So its a super sweet treat to keep ready to roll in your pantry! Great for potlucks or tailgating or simply showing the ones you love a little extra sugar on the weekends!

I hope this dessert will bless you and your family and friends for years to come! If you are new to cooking, this is a sure thing!

I also wanted to take a moment and just affirm and encourage you this week. I know its been a rough year and especially a rough week in the news. Sometimes it can take your breath away, even the strongest among us can get discouraged. But I want to encourage you, no matter what, love conquers all. We know it in our hearts, good will prevail. The end of the story has already been written, and love wins! And we can be ambassadors of that good news by showing a little extra love to everyone we meet. We have nothing to fear, we simply lift our chins to the heavens, and hold our shoulders back and let the floodgates of love open in our hearts to our brothers and sisters on this planet all around us. I love you all, and I hope you are encouraged to be like the sweetness in this recipe and let your heart love unreservedly and unconditionally!

I’ll be back Friday for another Fashion Friday!

Love Always,

Amy

“Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud. It does not dishonor other people. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people’s wrongs. Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up. Love never fails…”  1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIRV)