COWBOY BARS

For last week's treat for the Hillcrest Thrift Shop I went back to a good old standby, Miriam Miller's Authentic Amish Cooking - The Wooden Spoon Cookbook. In it I found this recipe called Cowboy Bars. I immediately thought about my mother's recipe for Cowboy Cookies. (I checked and the recipes are a little different.) I liked the idea that it would be fast to prepare and bake because it made bars instead of cookies. So without too much thought - Cowboys Bars it was.

The volunteers really liked them and there were only about 5 or 6 bars when I left. I just put them on a paper plate so I could take my container back home with me.

I didn't make any substitutions in the recipe (I know - rare for me, isn't it?) and the only change I made was cutting the recipe in half. Her recipe made 2 jelly roll pans of bars. Way more than I wanted to make and take to the Thrift Shop. Besides I only have one jelly roll pan.

COWBOY BARS

1          cup brown sugar
1          cup white sugar
1          cup butter
2         eggs, beaten
1          teaspoon vanilla
1/4      cup milk
2         cups flour
1-1/2   teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1-1/2   cups oatmeal
3/4     cups shredded coconut
1          cup chocolate chips (I used a mixture of chocolate, white, and peanut butter chips.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a jelly roll pan - 10 x 15 inches. 

Combine all ingredients and mix well:

I creamed the butter with the sugars first.

Because I was cutting the recipe in half, I almost forgot the second stick of butter.

Add the beaten eggs, vanilla, and milk.

Mix well.

Mix together the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, salt, oats, and coconut

before you add them to the butter/sugar mixture.

Last, but not least, I added the mixture of the chips I was using.

Place in a jelly roll pan.

Mixture is thick so I always drop most of the dough in dollops on pan

leaving some to use to fill in where needed. Spread evenly and press lightly.

Bake for 20 - 30 minutes. (I cooked mine the whole 30 minutes.)

Cut in bars when cool and ready to serve. (I covered mine with foil because I made it the evening before I was going to take it to Hillcrest Thrift Shop to share.) 

Store leftovers in airtight container.