King Congo Bars

. I have good news to report...

THE FOAMERS ARE 4-0!

Oh yes, mark us as undefeated! 

Okay, wait a minute, Jess.  Take it back a step.  Who in the world are the Foamers?!

Oh yeah...let me explain.  You know that softball team I talk about every week?  The team that gives me a legitimate excuse to make an extra batch of treats every week?!  Well, we're the Foamers.  Now let me explain to you exactly what a Foamer is. 

So, I work for the railroad, right?  Yes.  Union Pacific Railroad to be exact.  No, I don't work on the tracks or out on the trains, we'll leave that to people who actually have muscles.  Anywho, one of our managers [who is a self proclaimed Foamer] introduced me to this term a while back while traveling for one our audits.  She explained that a Foamer is someone who [not literally] 'foams at the mouth' when they hear or see trains go by and can rattle off information about that particular train.  Crazy, right?  Oh, those railroaders.

But that's how we got our name for the softball team.  A little weird sounding, I will admit.  At first it sounds like we're some rabid dogs, while in fact we're just a bunch of train-loving youngsters.  Good story?  Probably not.  But it's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Now back to our game.  I'm going to say that all of our success was probably due to these little [BIG] bars right here.  King Congo Bars.  They just sound masculine, huh?  And they are, and I think they are the reason we won our game on Wednesday in the LAST inning.  Why?  Because I basically threatened 'no win, no treats.'  Juuust joking, I didn't.  But we did win in the last inning and got to celebrate with Capri Suns [no joke, someone brought those!] and these delicious hunks of goodness.

I can't really think of any other way to describe the consistency of these bars except to compare them to Pecan Pie.  You know, that sticky, gooey filling?  That's kind of what they're like.  Chock-full of semisweet and white chocolate chips, pecans, dates, and coconut.  Then, finished with a crunchy, thin layer of chocolate.  YUM!  You can imagine the sweet, chewy greatness in your mouth.  Or you can just whip up a super simple batch of these yourself.  Your choice .

From A Passion for Baking

Ingredients:

3/4 c. unsalted butter, melted

2-1/2 c. firmly packed light brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2-3/4 c. all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1 c. sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 c. white chocolate chips

1/2 c. chopped pecans

1/2 c. pitted, diced dates

Topping:

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350°F.  Generously spray 13x9-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  In mixer bowl, blend butter and brown sugar.

3.  Add eggs and vanilla extract and blend well.

4.  Fold in flour, baking powder, salt, chocolate chips, coconut, white chocolate chips, pecans, and dates. 

5.  Spoon in prepared pan and using wet fingertips, spread batter evenly among pan.  

6.  Place pan in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 325°F.  Bake for 35 minutes or until bars are set but still seem soft.  Take pan out of oven and immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips and let sit for 1 to 2 minutes.  Using a spatula, smear chocolate chips around to make a glaze.

7.  Cool for 20 minutes and freeze for 1 to 2 hours before cutting and serving.

Yield: 2 dozen bars