Sunday, June 21, 2009

SMS: Butterscotch Cashew Bars



This week’s Sweet Melissa Sundays selection was Butterscotch Cashew Bars. The bars are made with a brown sugar shortbread base, a layer of butterscotch caramel, and topped with cashews. These gooey bars are from the “After School Snacks” section of the cookbook, which is chock full of yummy treats that I’m sure children would love to have waiting for them when they arrive home from school. I definitely thought these bars were a great afternoon snack! These bars were nice and easy to put together, though I think I might have over-baked my shortbread crust a bit. I made a half batch in an 8x8 pan rather than a full batch in a 9x13 pan as the recipe calls for. I’m pleased I did, because a little of these bars go a long way; they’re very rich and satisfying. Melissa gave instructions on how to “cut like a pro” and Mr. Penpen did an excellent job with the knife work.





These bars rated a 9 for Deliciousness and a 2.5 for Effort, giving them an EDR of 3.6. Many thanks to Pamela of Cookies with Boys for choosing this scrumptious treat. You can find the recipe for the bars on Pamela’s fantastic blog, and if any SMS'ers happen to have leftover cashews, I highly recommend this stir-fry she posted a few weeks ago – it’s become one of our favorite weeknight dinners. You can also see what the other bakers thought of these bars via the SMS blogroll.



And happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, special wishes to my dad and my favorite doggy-daddy!

12 comments:

Basically, Baby Boots said...

Yes, Mr. Penpen did an excellent job with the knife & your bars set really well. Aren't they buttery rich?

Pamela said...

Thanks for all of the kind words!! I'm so glad you could bake along with me this week. I really enjoyed this recipe and I'm glad you guys did, too!

Creative Classroom Core said...

I have been drooling over these! They look so goosy and yummy!

Leslie said...

These look deadly. Really, really yummy looking!

Megan said...

I wish I had tried these, I love cashews and butterscotch!

Great knife skills, btw, but I like the supervisor keeping a close eye on things!

k.a.r.e.n said...

Your bars look great! You're right they are very rich & satisfying.

spike. said...

Those look great, glad you liked them!

Lulu the Baker said...

Great job on your bars!

Unknown said...

Your bars look terrific! And how lucky are you to have Mr. Penpen handling the cutting? :) Glad you enjoyed the bars.

JoAnn Freda said...

Eloise takes her job of food watchdog very seriously. Any drooling involved? Eloise's cousin could not believe the baked goods bonanza in his own kitchen on Sunday morning. Two dozen lemon poppy seed muffins and King Arthur's coffee cake all prepared under his watchful eyes. Coffee cake not as good as your blueberry coffee cake but I couldn't get the recipe for that to come up on the website you gave. Help.

Kayte said...

Those look really good...think I need to visit this recipe for the guys here as all ingredients would be something they love. Yours look particularly lovely.

Anonymous said...

Hi Margot!

I love the picture with your doggy eagerly examining the bars on the counter. I had a similar experience with my puppy Bella, who is probably my #1 fan of everything I make (unfortunately, she is more often than not just pining over it, and not getting to eat much- maybe a few crumbs!)

Hope you have a chance to stop by my site to check out my bars, as well! Talk to you after next Sunday's recipe postings!

-Joy