Confetti Bars

 

I love hand held, two bite desserts. 

When I was deciding on what to make as one of the desserts for the baby shower we recently helped host, I knew I wanted something that would be grab and go.  I also knew that one of the shower honorees, Jeremy, loved cookie cake.  I was actually able to mesh the two things and made these delicious M&M cookie bars.

I found the recipe on Pinterest (of course) but made a bit of a change by adding about 2 teaspoons of corn starch.  I think it helps keep the dough chewy and seems to be the secret ingredient when it comes to making delicious cookie cakes.

The results were fabulous and the cookie bars were gone in no time.  They keep for a couple of days but are best eaten when they are slightly cooled with a glass of cold milk.  Mmmmmm.

Enjoy!

 

Thick and Chewy M&M Cookie Bars
adapted from fantasticfamilyfavorites.blogspot.com

Print this recipe!

2 1/8 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp. corn starch
12 T butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 12oz bag M&M's, divided

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position. Line a 9X13-inch baking pan with foil, letting the excess hang over the edges of the pan by about 1 inch so you can grab those edges and pull the bars from the pan after they have baked. Spray the foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Mix the flour, salt, corn starch and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside. Whisk the melted butter and sugars in a large bowl until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined; do not over mix. Fold in 1 cup of M&M's and turn the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula. Sprinkle remaining M&M's on top and press in slightly.

3. Bake until the top of the bars is light golden brown, slightly firm to the touch, and edges start pulling away from sides of pan, 24-28 minutes. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Remove the bars from the pan by lifting the foil overhang and transfer them to a cutting board. Cut into squares and serve.

 

Menu Monday

 

Happy MLK, Jr. Day!  We had a great long weekend that was packed full of fun.

Here are the highlights:

Rough housing with Charlie Brown, Pancakes Benedict (a Grocery Lane original), family breakfast two days in a row, independent play, more eating and playing.

 

Saturday afternoon we even started making some of the decorations for the little guy’s first birthday party that is coming up in a few weeks.  I am so excited with the final result and can’t wait to share it with you all soon!  Everett also had a visit from “Nanny Nomo” (our friend Noelle) who came over for dinner.  It was so good to catch up with her and eat cupcakes – her specialty!

Sunday morning Gransie (my mom) came down to watch E since we were heading to Clearwater for the night.  Our friends Jessica and Don were getting married and it was our first night together away from the kiddo.  It felt so weird to not have any “responsibility” (I use that term loosly) for the night and we had a blast.

Jessica looked gorgeous and the weather/setting was perfect.  We were so happy to be a part of their special day.

 

 

After “sleeping in” a little bit we met up with one of my friends from Gainesville, Megan, for a quick breakfast before heading back home.  It was so good to catch up (we haven’t seen each other in years) and it felt like no time had passed.  There is just something about good friends!

This week is more of the same with a visit at the end of the week with some friends in town from Wisconsin. 

 

Here’s what will be on our plates, I hope you’re eating yummy food, too!

 

M:  French Dip Paninis

T:  Breakfast Burgers w/ Sweet Potato Fries

W:  Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Th:  Chicken Pesto Pizza

F:  Taco Salad

Sa:  Broccoli, Ham and Cheese Baked Potatoes

Su:  Beef Stew with Veggies and Mashed Potatoes

 

Have a great week!

Fiesta!

 

Last weekend was so.much.fun.  As I mentioned on Menu Monday, we helped host a couples baby shower for our friends Jenny and Jeremy (they are regulars on the blog).  They are expecting their first baby February 17 and we were so excited we could celebrate with them.

The shower was a Fiesta theme (we jokingly called it a “Fetus Fiesta”) and let off such a fun vibe.  Jenny’s sister, Andrea, who was in town from Nashville for the shower had lots of premade decorations as well as supplies for us to make our own.  The shower was actually held at a beautifully decorated rental house (via VRBO) and showcased all of our decorations beautifully!

 

Our favorite items included the fun Mexican flowers shown above.  The solid colored poofs were premade (we just pulled the paper apart) and the multi-colored flowers were homemade (here is a pretty good tutorial if you want to make your own via 100 Layer Cake).

We set up the food and dessert inside while the bar was outside.  The flow of the house worked well and thank goodness there was a covered porch during a pretty rough thunderstorm about halfway through the party.  Apparently all of the areas around us actually lost power…but we stayed up and running.  Cha-ching.

 

 

The bar was equipped with beer, wine and a specialty blue margarita in honor of the baby boy.

 

 

Andrea also had these hysterical baby pictures of Jeremy and Jenny blown up to use with the “Pin the pacifier on the baby” game.  We added the mustache for a little bit more Mexican flair. 

 

 

Since the weather was pretty warm we stacked the yard with citronella tiki torches to keep all of the bugs away (that is until the bottom dropped out of the sky).

 

 

One of my favorite stations of the shower was the diaper decorating.  Everybody was encouraged to write a note on the diaper to Jenny and Jeremy as a funny reminder when they are up at all hours of the night with a newborn.

I was a bit hesitant…nothing was coming to me, but as Lynn and I sat there for a bit we were on a roll.  It was so much fun and so fun to read the others.  Some messages were sweet, some funny and some with words I can’t share on the blog.  It was hysterical.

 

 

The food was catered by Tijuana Flats and was delish.  We ordered tons of food and it was a breeze to set up.  All of the containers were very well labeled and everything tasted great.  I must have been having too much fun, because I didn’t take pictures of any of the grub!

 

 

In all it was a great night with great friends.  We are so excited for little baby Dawkins to get here and we can’t wait to meet him.  Cheers to our growing family of friends.

 

Congrats JD2!!!