Behold... The S'more Cookie Bar!

Okay, I will apologize in advance. This has nothing to do with teaching, but it has everything to do with kids... and adults who love delicious treats. Plus, if you double the recipe to fit into a 13x9 pan, you will get a nifty math lesson out of it. 

This is the BEST summer cookie treat EVER! Heck, make them in the winter too for all I care. I found this recipe at Baking Bites and made it immediately. It got the A-OK from my boys who were all about helping with the assembly. These cookie bars are delicious and gooey when they are warm and chewy good the next day. They will take you back to summer camp and leave you asking for s'more.

S’More Cookie Bars
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs*
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized Hershey bars (as in GIANT movie size)

1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.

Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars

Makes 16 cookie bars.

*Note: 3/4 cup crumbs is approx 7 full-sized graham cracker sheets, whizzed in the food processor until fine.

Now you're talking.

Walter's Snohomish County Adventure!

I arrived in Snohomish County and was greeted with excitement by Tara, her teen-age sister and their two moms.  Tara ripped open the package eagerly hoping for a Walter or maybe even a Wen (she didn't know she would see us both, but that comes later in the story!).  Tara lives in a cohousing neighborhood in Snohomish County.  It was fun to see her neighborhood and meet all of the friendly people.

Fresh out of the box, I hung out in Tara's pocket while she was in her Moon Shoes.  It can be quite bouncy! She went really far and high, too!

I went online with Tara for a class of Literature.  I learned some about Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.  I can't believe rats can be bigger than I am!  

It was Tara's mom's birthday so she and I made applesauce muffins with apples from their tree.  

I helped with the decorations.  In Tara's family, they decorate the whole lower level on birthdays.  I liked riding in the rainbow ball the best!

Tara is a Brownie Girl Scout.  I went to her troop meeting with her and we learned about selling Girl Scout cookies.  Yum!  Here I am with the cookie order sheet.

I went on a field trip with Tara and her mom to the Bellevue Art Museum.  We met Ms. Sloan there.  One of the best parts is that Ms. Britt was also there - with Wen!  

I had a lot of fun looking at different ceramic art, but I really liked playing around with pencils with Wen.  I think Ms. Britt took some pictures of our reunion too!

Important Fact: Even monsters need to brush their teeth!

Tara does a lot of fun things!  During the week, she not only took me to the art museum, but she took me to... 

a piano lesson...

swim class...

and even a jump rope class! 

Tara did double dutch while I watched.  I think I might like to try turning the rope, but I would need some help.  

I had fun in Tara's neighborhood in a snow chair (she said it was a snowball a couple of days earlier).  She also showed me what was left of an igloo that she had made before I got there.  Wow!

I had a great time with Tara and her family.  I wonder what further adventures I will have... I sure hope that I get to meet up with Wen again!

So long for now!

Wonderful WAVAteers!

Today we went to a Cookies by the Creek picnic in Vancouver. We spent the day with amazing WAVA families. Everyone was very friendly and the cookies were delicious! We took a few pictures to share with you. We'll post them below. What a fun day we had!

We met cool students...

and helpful teachers.

Wen really liked the craft table where kids made fun notebooks.

Great job as glue stick holder, Wen!

Walter liked the playground...

and the cookies!

 Thanks for inviting us to your picnic.
Now we are really excited to start our journey!

We'll see you soon,