Hello all,

Here's a summary of how the one day baking frenzy went this past Tuesday:

First thing was to have the dearspouse go to the grocery to to pick up
any ingredients that weren't already in the cupboard.
I made most of the recipes posted, and bookmarked the sites that were
suggested.

Chocolate Oh Henry Squares were a recipe that Alan posted. I pretty
much stuck to the recipe with one somewhat significant substitution -
instead of chopped walnuts, I used slivered almonds. I couldn't find
the second bag of chopped pecans (I prefer them to walnuts) I thought
spouse had brought home, so I had to wing it. The bars had a wonderful
taste to them, but the very middle was wet. I cut away the outer edges
to give away. I put the remainder in the 'frigerator. The cold left
overs were really tasty. The strong coffee in the glaze is a great
touch. I think using either the walnuts or pecans would've been better-
the slivered almonds were tasty, but not all that crunchy.

Salted Nut Bars were a recipe that Allan posted but were originally
contributed by Sheryl Rosen.
I'm not sure if marshmallows come in more that one size bag (the recipe
calls for one bag). Spouse picked up the mini marshmallows in what
looked like a rather large bag to me, he said it was all that was
available. I made the recipe as directed, but only used 3/4 of the bag
- it just looked like way too much to use the whole bag. The finished
bars looked like big puffy clouds with peanuts on top. The salty and
sweet together in one bite were a nice contrast. I am curious as to
what the right amount of marshmallows is. The cloud effect was cool,
but I wish I'd "Pammed" the sides of the glass pan first - the
marshmallows had to be hacked at (carefully) so they'd let go of the
sides that they stuck too.

Pecan Bars I were from Alan also.
Only thing I did differently with the recipe was use unsalted butter for
the margarine and added a pinch of salt to the filling. These were
really great - cut up well too. The only minus was my old oven and its
uncanny ability to make mushy middles no matter what the recipe. I had
lot to give away and a nice mushy middle that I put back in the oven for
another 20 or so minutes, then a trip to the 'fridge to join their
brethren the Oh Henry Bars. Spouse really enjoyed these (so did I) even
cold.

I didn't make the Candy Bar brownies. I was just too tired - so now I
have 4 Snickers Bars in the 'fridge waiting to be used. Oh well, I'll
make them soon.

The Cookie 'n Oat Bars from Scott were terrific. These were the first
bars from all the bars recipes that were posted that I made. It was
during these that I opened the much too old can of sweetened condensed
milk and found out just how gloppy and oogie it can turn. These too had
a very slightly loose middle, but just like the others, after a little
extra baking, they lived in the 'frige for snacking purposes. The done
parts cut up well. These are a no brainer with outstanding results.

Brownies from Bob were delicious. I used 3/4 of a cup of peanut butter
chips in the recipe. I made only a single batch which may account for
the done enough (though just barely) center. I lined the glass dish
with foil coated in Pam so I wouldn't have to wrestle with the first
brownie - I've always done this with brownies and it seems to allow them
to be cut up into a nice presentation.

Since I still have some chips left and a few new cans of "fresh" canned
sweetened condensed milk, I'll make some of the Easy Fudge submitted by
Michael soon.

I also made the Caramel Pecan Dream Bars - thanks again Alan. Turns out
I had a bag of chopped Heath Bars on hand already. By now you're all
seeing a theme here with all the unbaked centers....these were no
exception. They were really tasty though. The done and cooled parts
cut up really well to give away.

I ended up being able to say thank you to a bunch of folks with really
nice platefuls of assorted baked bars. No one but you guys knows I
have/had gooey left overs that were good even cold.

To all of you who came through with great recipes and suggestions, thank
you again very much.

patrice