Fat Friday: Can't Leave Alone Bars

Poor Fat Friday.

So neglected. So mistreated. So ignored.

Today I'm turning it around. I know, without a doubt, this recipe will get me on your good side. These bars are so good - rich and gooey and chocolatey and easy - I would sell one of my kids for them.

OK, not really. They would definitely sell ME for a pan of them.

I got the recipe from my friend, Becky, who brought them to a Boy Scout event and when I tasted them - oh my word when I tasted them! - the heavens opened, a ray of light shone down and a Voice said,

"Don't be a hog and eat all of them, for crying out loud."

Here's how you make them!

1 box of cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1-14 oz. can sweetened, condensed milk

1 c. chocolate chips

1/4 c. butter

About the cake mix - the original recipe called for a white cake mix. As you can see in the picture, I substituted chocolate. Like you're surprised.

I've also substituted other flavors of chips - peanut butter chips with a chocolate cake mix is a hit with the kids. Mint chips would be good too. The possibilities are endless!

Microwave the chocolate chips, condensed milk and butter in 1-minute increments, stirring after each one.

It helps if you have a kitchen helper who likes to stir.

Put the cake mix, oil and eggs in a mixing bowl and stir it up.

Take 2/3 of the dough and press it into a 9x13 pan. I pressed it up the sides a bit, too.

Because you're going to do this . . .

Pour that gooey, fudgy, chocolateyness on the dough. If you occasionally need to take a taste, I won't tell.

Scoop up pieces of the remaining dough and do this . . .

Oh look. Teeth marks.

It seems I have no problem ingesting raw eggs.

Once you're done sampling the dough and assuming you have enough left over for the recipe -

- drop it in clumps over the top of the gooey layer. Letting some of the gooeyness show through.

*TANGENT ALERT* I love the word gooey. It's a comfort word. It evokes images of warm, chocolatey bliss. It's associated with some of my best friends, the Carb Family.

Let your kitchen helper FINALLY lick her fingers.

Bake 20 -25 minutes at 350F.

Here's what they look like if you use a white cake mix. It's a bit easier to tell when they're done baking - they get golden brown across the top.

But the chocolate ones are my favorite.

Let them cool before cutting.

Eat.

Nominate me for a Nobel Prize. I think I would qualify in the literature category.

Plus that would move me along in my goal of being famous by . . . today.

(Click here for printable recipe!)