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Dream Bars, updated
So, sometimes a recipe is written the way it is for a reason. After failing to peel paper off of muffin-shaped bars, I decided to go back to the flat version, with a few tweaks.
NB: the caramel step is optional. I recently rediscovered my bottle of Jamaican "caramel browning" so I simply added a splash of that to the sweetened condensed milk.
2 tbsp white sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups rolled oats
1 c. flour, white
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1&1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup hemp seeds or chopped nuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional
Preheat the oven to 350F.
find your smallest pot or pan. In it, heat the 2 tbsp white sugar till it melts
and caramelizes (don't walk away, or it will swiftly burn). Add a splash of
water to dissolve, cook down to a syrup, and mix with the sweetened condensed
milk and vanilla (get as much of the caramel out of the pot as you can, using a
spatula). Leave to cool. (I did this instead of using dulce de leche because
the milk caramelizes somewhat during baking, so dulce de leche would over
caramelize, i.e., burn.)
In a food processor, process the flour, 1&1/2 cups of oats, the baking soda,
1/2 tsp salt, and the brown sugar until the oats have broken down to a coarse
flour. Add 1 cup of the butter and mix well. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture and
press the rest into a rectangular pan lined with both foil and parchment paper.
Set aside.
To the reserved mixture add the remaining oats, remaining butter, 1/4 tsp salt,
and the hemp seeds or nuts, and the chocolate chips if desired. Mix well (in
a bowl so as to not chop up the chips). Spread the milk mixture over the bottom
crust, and scatter lumps of the topping over that (it should be patchy rather
than homogenous). Bake for 30 minutes, let cool, and cut into squares with a
pizza cutter.
NB: the caramel step is optional. I recently rediscovered my bottle of Jamaican "caramel browning" so I simply added a splash of that to the sweetened condensed milk.
2 tbsp white sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups rolled oats
1 c. flour, white
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1&1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup hemp seeds or chopped nuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional
Preheat the oven to 350F.
find your smallest pot or pan. In it, heat the 2 tbsp white sugar till it melts
and caramelizes (don't walk away, or it will swiftly burn). Add a splash of
water to dissolve, cook down to a syrup, and mix with the sweetened condensed
milk and vanilla (get as much of the caramel out of the pot as you can, using a
spatula). Leave to cool. (I did this instead of using dulce de leche because
the milk caramelizes somewhat during baking, so dulce de leche would over
caramelize, i.e., burn.)
In a food processor, process the flour, 1&1/2 cups of oats, the baking soda,
1/2 tsp salt, and the brown sugar until the oats have broken down to a coarse
flour. Add 1 cup of the butter and mix well. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture and
press the rest into a rectangular pan lined with both foil and parchment paper.
Set aside.
To the reserved mixture add the remaining oats, remaining butter, 1/4 tsp salt,
and the hemp seeds or nuts, and the chocolate chips if desired. Mix well (in
a bowl so as to not chop up the chips). Spread the milk mixture over the bottom
crust, and scatter lumps of the topping over that (it should be patchy rather
than homogenous). Bake for 30 minutes, let cool, and cut into squares with a
pizza cutter.