Chewy Butterscotch Bars

Here is my last, wonderful, sugar laden sweet treat to offer you before Valentine's Day. I want you to have options, so I dug deep and really dedicated myself to providing you with amazing recipes to bake up for the ones you love this year. How did I do? My loved ones are begging for salad and fruit, so I know I've done my job here!

Like most of the recipes I share, this is an old-fashioned, simple, no-fuss recipe that turn out fantastic every time. In the ones pictured, I substituted Valentine's M&M's for the nuts, but you can also put in chocolate chips, toffee pieces, mini peanut butter cups or (my personal favorite) coconut.

Cut into bars and wrapped in plastic, these will last for lunches all week. Or, you can place the individually wrapped bars into a zip top bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. They stay amazingly fresh and they actually taste better the next day if you can keep them out of your mouth for that long.

Butterscotch Bars

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 cups brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup chopped nuts (or any of the substitutions mentioned above)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick spray. In a saucepan, melt the shortening. Remove from heat and add in the eggs, stirring quickly to avoid curdling them. Add in the flour, soda, salt and nuts and stir well. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into bars while still warm. 

Tomorrow I have an amazingly tasty and HEALTHY (!!!!!) muffin recipe to share with you. In the meantime, enjoy Valentine's Day and remember- show the ones you love them all the time, not just once a year. Make Valentine's day a special time, but not the only time you tell people that you love and appreciate them. Oh, and whatever you do- DON'T make mom do the dishes!!!