Week 41: Candy Bar Cookies

This week I chose to make candy bar cookies.  I have had this recipe in my "cookie arsenal" for a long time, but haven't ever made it until now.  Last night as I was making my final decision Dan and the kids encouraged me to make this recipe.  I think it was in part due to the name of the recipe...how could you not like it right?  The finished cookies aren't really like a cookie though...they are more like candy. I think this is only the second cookie bar that I have included in my cookie project.  Generally I do prefer drop cookies or cut outs, but this recipe was interesting and the end result is super yummy. The cookies were easy to make but I had to make a few substitutions.  First, the recipe calls for peanut butter, but unbelievably I was out.  I thought I had an extra jar in my pantry, but when I was gathering my ingredients I realized I was out.  I used raw almond butter instead and the cookies turned out great.  Also, I only had 1 1/2 cups of instant oats in the pantry, and the recipe called for 1 3/4 cups, so I just used what I had. Lastly, in addition to the chopped peanuts that the recipe calls for, I also used slivered almonds since I used almond butter in the actual cookies. This recipe was different than my usual recipes in that there is no flour in the dough, and it's only the second time in 41 weeks that I didn't use my Kitchen Aide mixer to prepare the dough.  The only other time I didn't use flour or the mixer was back in week 7 when I made the "chocolate peanut butter no bakes."   Here is a link to the recipe that I used: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/bars/candy-bar-cookie-bars/



Ryan enjoying a freshly baked chocolate
chip cookie ~age 2.

 I usually find inspiration for this blog in my personal memories of growing up, or in the photos of my beloved family.  This week I found inspiration in an article I was reading.   It was in the September issue of "Good Housekeeping."  It was in the "Good Reads" section of the magazine, and it was titled "Broken Dishes."  The author Naomi Levy, writes about being 8 years old, and accidentally breaking a few pieces of her mother's good china.  The family was tight on money and had purchased the china on sale.  It was a close out item and therefore could not be replaced.  Even if the department store still had the china pattern, the family could not afford to replace the pieces that were broken.  Over the next few decades the author would scour estate sales, and china departments of every store she went into in the attempt to replace the broken pieces.  Finally when her own children were older than she was when she broke the china, she found a company that helped people locate and replace old china.  Even though the company she contacted couldn't help her, (they had never heard of the china manufacturer or of the pattern name) the receptionist on the phone listened to her story and helped her replace the broken pieces.  Eventually she was able to give her mom the pieces she had accidentally broken when she was a child.  She wrote the following quote in summation of her experience... "We live in a broken world. Inside us there beats a heart that has been broken more times than we’d care to remember. But there will always be someone to help us pick up the shattered pieces and begin the process of repair. Sometimes with glue, sometimes with love, sometimes with miracles. Always with God."  The author went on to be part of the first woman's class to ever enter the Jewish Theological Seminary's rabbinical school. Additionally she has also published a book titled "Hope Will Find You." 



Yvonne and Victoria enjoying a
freshly made peanut butter cookie ~ ages 3 and 4

 I really liked Naomi Levy's essay but it was the final quote that moved me. In all honesty it moved me to tears. I could completely relate to the broken heart aspect.  Usually there is someone in our lives that helps us overcome that heartache. My "someones"  have been family and a few dear friends.  The author's "someone" was a woman she had never met.  A woman who she had only spoken with once on the phone, but who felt moved by her story, and out of the goodness of her heart decided to help her.  Well that's the kind of world I want to live in.  Especially on the heels of the 10 year anniversary of 9/11, I needed to read a story like that.  I needed to be reminded of random acts of kindness.  Unfortunately in my adult years, I have become jaded.  After 40 years on this planet, I have lost faith in far too many people and in their desire/ability to do the right thing.  This essay reminded me that there are still good people in this world.  People who do things for others even if there is no gain to themselves. We unfortunately do not hear about these people.  We only hear about murderers, thieves, and people who fly planes into buildings. I wish there was a newscast that only reported the good things that happened that day.  For example ..." today in Detroit John Doe's car broke down on the freeway, and John Smith offered him a cell phone so he could call a tow truck."  Or, "today  when Jane Smith was in line at the grocery store, John Doe picked up the can of peas she dropped."  Something to that effect.  I for one would love to listen to stories about people helping each other...about random of acts of kindness.  I have had my fill of hearing about the reverse.

For the better part of the last 7 years I refuse to watch the news or read the newspaper.  It's always so depressing.  This guy shot this guy, or this many people were killed today...BLAH BLAH  BLAH.  I never want to minimize someone else's pain, but I cannot listen to it any more.  If there is something important going on in the world, Dan will tell me. Otherwise, I choose to remain uninformed.  I have a difficult time letting go of the bad things that I hear about, so instead of causing myself more grief, I don't listen anymore. 

As I wrote last week there are times in life when I feel that my food prepared with love is all I have to offer. So as I prepared the cookie for this week I thought again about Naomi Levy's quote.  To make it pertinent to my life I would change it ever so slightly.  If it was a quote about my life it would go something like this:
 "...we live in a broken world. Inside us there beats a heart that has been broken more times than we’d care to remember. But I will always be someone to help you pick up the shattered pieces and begin the process of repair. Sometimes with laughter, sometimes with love, but always with cookies."  ♥

Ryan and Victoria ~ ages 7 and 10