Dream Bars

For the past several months, I have been hosting groups of parishioners in the rectory for sessions I'm calling "Fellowship with Father." These informal gatherings are an opportunity for me to get to know parishioners at my new parish, as well as for them to get to know me, and for me to hear from them their vision for our parish. For each of these gatherings, I have some homemade refreshments, and I have gotten requests for some of the recipes I have used. So over the next several weeks - and perhaps as an ongoing feature of this blog - I'll be sharing some of the best recipes I have found and used. I'm starting with a recipe that is a family favorite. My Aunt Nancy, who died a little over three years ago - was famous for her Christmas cookies - she would bake dozens of dozens of cookies each year, and family members and friends would receive plates of cookies at Christmas time. This was one of our all-time favorite cookies.

Caramel Pecan Dream Bars

Base Ingredients
1 pkg. Yellow Cake Mix
1/3 cup softened butter or margarine
1 egg

Filling
1 can Condensed Milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup Heath Bits O'Brickle Baking Chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13x9-inch pan. In large bowl, combine cake mix, margarine and egg. Mix at high speed until crumbly. Press into prepared pan. In small bowl, beat milk, egg, and vanilla until blended. Stir in pecans and Heath chips. Pour over base in pan; spread to cover.

Bake at 350 for 25 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Center may appear loose but will set upon cooling. Allow bars to cool completely before cutting. Makes 36 bars.