Understanding and All Star Bars
It has been such a heartbreaking week, month, possibly start of a year. The news feels so very hard and painful and everyday feels harder to face the headlines but turning our faces at this time feels like exactly the wrong thing; we need to look deeply at ourselves and at each other rather then turn away at this time. If ever there was a time to turn to understanding, compassion, growth and change now seems like the time.
The past few days I have read a few things that have meant a lot to me in these sad and confusing days…
Michael Brown’s Mom, on Alton Sterling & Philando Castile
The next time someone says “all lives matter” show them these 5 paragraphs
Trevor Noah made a great point and its important
W Kamau Bell on This American Life
Brene Brown’s word’s were so powerful
Now onto something sweeter because after all of that I need something sweet. Tonight is the All Star Game and I baked these Chocolaty Pretzel -and-Peanut Cookie Bars. They seemed the perfect thing to eat with friends and watch baseball!
All Star Bars – recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
5 1/2 cups salted mini pretzel twists
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 cups roasted and lightly salted peanuts
6 ounces (about 1 cup) bittersweet chocolate – I use chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and line with parchment, leaving about an inch overhang along sides. Butter parchment.
- Place 4 1/2 cups pretzels in a food processor and pulse until texture resembles coarse cornmeal. Transfer to a bowl and stir in sugar and butter until well combined. Transfer to pan, spreading evenly, and pack down flat with the bottom of a measuring cup.
- Drizzle condensed milk evenly over crust. Sprinkle with peanuts & chocolate.
- Gently press the remaining 1 cup pretzels into milk along top of bars.
- Bake until chocolate melts and condensed milk bubbles and becomes golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Cool completely in pan on a wire rack, then refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.
- Run a sharp knife between bars and short sides of pan. Using parchment overhangs, transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 15 squares.
