Monster Cookie Bars with a Side of Landscaping

.  Lots to talk about.  So brace yourself.

First things first, remember how I mentioned that Robbie and I spent Memorial Day Weekend working on the front yard?  Well, we really did.  And I have the pictures to prove it.  

It might not look much different to you, but our backs would beg to differ.  We spent all of Saturday clearing out the front yard: [loads of] weeding, mowing, sweeping, and picking up rascaly branches from our ginormous tree.

Then on Sunday, I made a little trip to a nearby nursery and grabbed a fair amount of flowers and plants: rhododendrons, hostas, and a variety of annuals.  I also ended up having to make an extra trip to grab another Yew to fill in that little space you see there in the back hedge.  Neither Robbie or I know what happened to that little gap...but it's all fixed now with a Yew that is drastically smaller than the others.  Oh well.

Somehow during the weekend we managed enough strength to collect ourselves and head downtown for a nice little dinner while watching Creighton in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship [which they won!], which is the reason for our upcoming weekend trip.  We'll get to that though.

Anywho, we rarely get pictures together [or not near enough as I'd like!], so I thought it'd be nice to share a couple with you all.  What Robbie doesn't realize is that if he would just smile for one picture, we wouldn't have had to take three more.  Guys...

So back to this random trip Robbie and I will taking come Thursday afternoon.  As I mentioned, Creighton won the MVC Tournament, and they were placed in the UCLA Regional.  Soooo, Robbie and are jetsetting off to L.A. to spend a long weekend, watch some baseball, and lounge on the beach for a few hours.  Not a bad time, I would say!

I most definitely will have pictures from our trip, so be on the look out for those some time soon.

Okay, and for the final point of this post...the absolute star...Gooey Monster Cookie Bars!  As you know, it's Thursday, and that means Foamer time!  If you haven't noticed, there hasn't been a Foamer post in a few weeks because unfortunately I haven't been able to make the games for this reason or that.  And what do you know, I'll be missing this weeks game, too.  Boo.

But last week I did make the game and brought these little gems with me.  For some reason I felt a little nostalgic and wanted to bake something classic.  And this is what I came up with! I used a couple of recipes [one of them being Dorie's Best Chocolate Chip Cookie and adapting it] and came up with my very own Monster Cookie Bar.  Proud of me?  Just kidding, don't answer that.

I, and my teammates, absolutely loved these [well, I think they did].  What I think really makes them unique though is the addition of marshmallows.  I made a Kitchen Sink Cookie some time back and remembered how much I loved the addition of the marshmallows, because they become uber gooey and sometimes caramelize, so I had an inkling they would work in this creation.  And they did, they did.  The base is a buttery, soft peanut butter cookie dough, offering up the perfect chew.  The marshmallows add a wonderful texural element, like I said, gooey.  And then you add in those crunchy, chocolate M&Ms, oats, and white chocolate chips, and you have a winner all.  day.  long.

Robbie and I are obviously going to be away this weekend, so I wish everyone a fabulous next couple of days and I can't wait to share our trip with you all!  

Oh, any restaurant suggestions out there for the L.A. area?!  .

My Notes:

• Feel free to choose whatever add-in's your heart desires, that's one of the fun things about this recipe!  
• The peanut butter flavor in the cookie dough is rather slight, so don't be deterred from adding in peanut buttery things, it will only make this treat better!  If you like peanut butter, that is...

Ingredients:

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

1 c. sugar

2/3 c. packed light brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

3/4 c. old fashioned oats

1 c. mini marshmallows

1 c. M&Ms

3/4 c. white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375F.  Grease 13x9-inch pan with non stick cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda.  In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until smooth (about 1 minute).
3. Add sugar and brown sugar and beat until well blended (about 2 minutes).  Beat in vanilla extract and then eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition.
4. Reduce mixer speed to low and add in dry ingredients in three portions, mixing only until each addition is incorporated.  Fold in oats, marshmallows, M&Ms, and white chocolate chips. 
5. Slightly press down dough evenly into prepared pan.  Bake 28 to 32 minutes, or until golden brown and middle begins to puff slightly. 

Yield: 2 dozen bars