Coffee Toffee Bars

I just made these this afternoon and thought I'd share the recipe with more photos than my previous post. You can also find this in printable form on TastyKitchen.com.

Here's what you'll need to make these delicious Coffee Toffee Bars, one of my family's favorites: Margarine, brown sugar, almond extract, instant coffee granules, flour, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips. I'll include some alternate ingredients at the end of the post!

First, melt the margarine.

Add the brown sugar.

The almond extract.

The coffee granules. You can play around with this a little if you prefer a stronger or more subtle coffee flavor.

Stir together the previous ingredients, then add flour.

Baking powder.

And salt.

Stir them all together. This will be a fairly thick batter - see how it pulls away from the sides of the bowl?

Press it into a greased pan.

Sprinkle (as liberally as you want!) with chocolate chips and lightly press them into the batter.

Place in an oven preheated to 35o degrees F.

Bake for 20-25 minutes (mine went about 30-35 because I doubled it). Edges should be slightly brown - but don't overbake it! I'd err on the doughier side if in doubt.

Let it cool for a few minutes, then dig in and enjoy! See the Tasty Kitchen post for a summary of the recipe and a printable version.

Alternatives:

-Try adding chopped nuts

-Add coconut

-Substitute vanilla extract for the almond extract

-Substitute Heath bar bits for the chocolate chips

Any other clever substitution suggestions?

Home Again

My brother and I made it home from college this Sunday night - well, actually, Monday morning. We got home about 2am because one of our flights was cancelled and we had a couple long layovers we hadn't planned on. So Sunday was a really long day (we had gotten up at 5:30 in the morning) but we don't mind because we're finally home now. =)

I've kept busy since getting back - went on a long walk with the family, helped Spring Clean the shoe/jacket closet, helped my Dad tidy up the barn, ran a load of stuff to the thrift store, ran some other errands, rearranged my room...it all makes me feel very accomplished! ;)

Yesterday we were moving an old fridge and something fell out from underneath.

At first I thought it was just a blob of dust.

Then I noticed that it was actually a very dusty bunny.

And then the light turned on:

It's a real live dustbunny!!!

Happiness is a Big Bubble

Hi, it's me again...only 2 months after my last post...sorry! College has been crazy lately - translating Hosea, for example, and working on an Ecclesiology paper, practicing extricating people from vehicles (Emergency Response class), Greek homework, working in the bakery, piano, reading a 700-page book...and blowing bubbles! That's right, I'm giving you a how-to on a sure way to brighten your day - and it won't cost you a thing, since you (hopefully) wash your hands often anyway! I re-discovered this trick recently and found it quite enthralling. Here's how to do it:

1. Soap up really well. I'm still figuring out the proportions here, but it definitely seems like more soap is better - and it'll get rid of more germs, too! Get your hands wet, but not so much that you wash all the soap off.

2. Rub your thumb against the side of your forefinger. This is where you want the highest concentration of soap to be.

3. Slowly slide your thumb down toward the tip of your finger, making sure they stay touching at all times.

4. You now have your very own bubble wand! If you've kept contact between your thumb and finger, you should have a thin film of soap in the middle of the circle. If not, repeat steps 2 and 3, adding a little more soap or water if necessary.

5. Now blow gently through the circle, carefully forming your bubble. When it gets the size you want it, close the circle, again keeping the finger and thumb together. The bubble will sit neatly in your hand!

Try it out! You can get them pretty big when conditions are right. If your other hand is still soaped, you can sometimes play with the bubble without popping it.

Make sure you try this out the next time you wash your hands! If you have kids, though, you might want to keep this a secret...I can see how this power could be very messy in the wrong hands. ;) Enjoy your Spring!!!