Heath Bar Blondies

I decided I would do two posts today because tomorrow the hubby and I must hit the road quite early to make it back to College Station at a decent hour. But before I go onto recipes- I must share with you my Thanksgiving Holiday Saturday. Well- after posting this morning- my sister and I went shopping. We were a bit delayed in getting to the Black Friday deals and in fact we missed some deals. There was this very nice yellow sweater and shoes at New York & Company- but they ran out of my size :( So tragic.

That did not stop my sister and I- and so I walked away with some wonderful new, cute clothes for work. I tried to stock up on more professional clothes and I am moving along on my career path- and I feel, one of the necessities are business attire. Well- I tried to get clothes that fulfilled two requirements, (1) they could be used in winter and summer and (2) they could be used professionally and casually once I left work (ie. shirts that looked dressed up with a blazer and are casual, cute with jeans. I think I accomplished these goals. But, sadly, another goal of mine was to get cute flats, remember? Sadly, I could not find cute flats! One most stores were, again cleaned out in my size and when they were not- I was just not willing to pay the price that they were being sold at. So I guess I will hold off until I can find shoes that please me and my wallet ;)

After shopping- my sister and I went to a Chocolate Shop called Laura Littles- I believe they have other locations across the U.S. but I have not heard of them. It is a cute little Chocolate Shop that sells an abundance of sweets. My sister and I filled up on chocolate, chocolate covered oreos, and fudge. It was pretty darn yummy. It was no Truman Chocolates of College Station- but it was good. I got the hubby Lemon Sandwiches, which he quite enjoyed. We did not eat all day- because we were busy shopping and so I believe I stuffed my face with some wonderfully tasting chocolate. I still have some left for our trip back home tomorrow ;)

After Laura Littles- my sister and I went to Union Station. I noticed that most major cities have Train Stations yet, Los Angeles and Houston- two major cities- do not have train stations!?! Like what is the deal!? The train station was absolutely beautiful- a wonderful place to take engagement pictures (which, I did see a couple having an engagement photoshoot). We went to Union Station because my cousin, her husband and her son were visiting from Wichita and we wanted to see them before they headed back. I haven't see her for years and have not met her son- so it was nice.

We finished the night by picking up the boys (ie. my brother-in-law and husband) and headed to Gates Bar-B-Q. The thing to remember is that Kansas City and Texas I think compete for their title in BBQ. Texas is known for how they BBQ and prepare the meat, whereas Kansas City is all about the sauce. So I wanted to try a known, must have Kansas City BBQ eat. And so Gates we went. I had high hopes, because I was hungry and it smelled good when you enter. But sadly, the location we went to did not serve Lamb (like their other locations- or so their signs stated) and they had very limited side options. I got the short side (pork), onion rings, pasta salad, beans and potato salads. I am just not a fan of BBQ sauce, especially sweet-tangy sauce. The pasta salad, potato salad, beans and sauce on the meat were all sweet, which basically equaled a major fail. What did I have? Onion rings- that was the only thing I enjoyed. Kansas City BBQ- you are just not as good as Texas, sorry.

Now that I am done sharing cookies- I decided to share some Heath Bar Blondies. This was one of the candies that I stocked up on after Halloween and although the recipe called for just 1 cup of crushed Heath Bars- I love toffee and I love ooey-gooey bars that just melt in your mouth- so I increased the recipe. So if you are looking at the pictures and think they look super gooey- that is because they were meant to be BUT you can always decrease the amount of Heath Bars if that is not your thing.

HEATH BAR BLONDIES

Adapted from The Delicious Life

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 350F degrees

1 stick of butter, softened
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2- 2 c. Heath Bars, chopped/crushed

DIRECTIONS

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment- cream together butter and sugar for 6-8 minutes. Then add egg and vanilla- combine well. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients- flour and baking soda. Slowly add in dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Finally add in chopped up Heath Bars.

Grease a 9x9 (I did a 8x8) baking pan. Pour batter into pan and spread evenly. Bake 20-25 minutes. Let completely cool (I actually let it cool and then placed it in the freezer for 1 hour) - so that it would be easier to cut into bars.

Enjoy,
Chika