BASE
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
CARAMEL
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp vanilla extract, to 2 ts
ICING
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp cocoa, sifted
1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
Directions
Karen Kruckenberg of Harvard, Illinois earned an honorable mention in
the 1996 Chicago Tribune Annual Holiday Cookie Contest with a simple
recipe for caramel oat bars from England.
1. Heat oven to 350'F. For base, beat butter and sugar in small bowl
of electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3
minutes. Add oats and flour; beat until smooth. Press into greased
8-inch-square or 9-inch-square baking pan. Bake until set, 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare caramel mixture. Heat condensed milk, butter and
brown sugar to a boil in heavy saucepan over medium heat. Boil,
stirring constantly, 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
Pour caramel mixture over cooked base; allow to cool completely.
3. To prepare icing, melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in
cocoa and water until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar; stir until
mixed well. Spread over cooled caramel layer. Allow to set before
cutting. Store refrigerated.
Source: Chicago Tribune, December 4, 1996
Servings: 16 bars
1996 Honorable Mention: Caramel Oat Bars Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Candy; Cookie; Dessert
The History of Recipes
It is possible to read the history of `recipes` back into the far past, in truth as far back into history as pharonic Egypt, and maybe even further. In practice though, sadly, these old cookbooks were just primitive hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for food preparation.
In fact, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a collection of ancient tablets in Sumerian which show the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making drinkers feel blissful. Later on, in The time of the romans around 25BC a roman called Apicius wrote some documents showing how to cook the recipes enjoyed by wealthy Romans. In his publication, Apicius recounts how the meals were split into starters, entrees and desserts, a style of dining still practiced today. He also informs us how the ancient cooks were skilled in the use of a wide range of herbs, including a few you will know such as bay, fennel and dill. Later on in the 1400s, people returning from the crusades brought back a variety of spices and herbs from middle-east cuisine, including rosemary and coriander. These new spices and herbs was responsible for an outbreak in books on cooking, many of which are now in private libraries. The arrival of television gave us TV chefs and the accompanying recipe books. And that neatly brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing us all to access thousands of recipes just like those on the site you are now reading. |
We hope you enjoy this 1996 Honorable Mention_ Caramel Oat Bars recipe.
