Sunday, February 28, 2021

Guest Kaye George with Clark Bars from Into the Sweet Hereafter + #Giveaway!





Please welcome author Kaye George back to the Kitchen! Kaye is sharing a fun recipe from her Vintage Sweets cozy mystery series. Her third title in the series, Into the Sweet Hereafter, will be published in March, and she's giving away a copy today. Learn more below. Now...

Take it away, Kaye!


🍨 🍉🍭 🍦









T
hanks for having me back for a recipe from my third Vintage Sweets cozy mystery. I love being here! 

Tally got most of the recipes that she makes and sells in her sweet shop at Fredericksburg TX from her grandmother in New Jersey, whose hobby was recreating her favorites in her own kitchen. 

This is a simple, easy recipe, with a few pitfalls which I’ll point out. I’ll let you guess how I discovered them.




Clark Bars from
by Kaye George


INGREDIENTS

1 c. sugar

1 c. corn syrup

1 c. smooth peanut butter

6 c. Rice Krispies

12 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
(or possibly a few more)



INSTRUCTIONS

One: Heat first two ingredients in large saucepan until just boiling, remove from heat

Two: Add peanut butter to the pan and mix well

Three: Stir in cereal (you can also use corn flakes or Special K)

Four: Spread into 9x13 buttered baking pan

Five: Press into corners

Six: Melt chocolate chips in another pan, spread on top

Seven: Refrigerate, then cut into squares or rectangles


STEP ONE

Heating these two is easy, unless you spill the sugar all over the stove. (This picture is before that happened.)



STEP TWO

Then add peanut butter.




STEP THREE

When you stir in the cereal, if you’ve used the size pan I did, you will realize you need a bigger one. NOTE, USE DUTCH OVEN FROM THE BEGINNING. Honestly, I sometimes think they just have me here for comic relief.



STEP FOUR

Now it’s time to butter a cookie sheet/baking pan/whatever you want to call that 9x13 thing and spread this out. It cools quickly, so work fast.



STEP FIVE

Scrunch it into the corners with your fingers. By this time, it’s not too hot, if you work at the same speed I do, which is less than lightning quick.



STEP SIX

Melting the chocolate is easy. Spreading it out is not. This cools even more quickly than the cereal and peanut butter mixture.




See, this is why I think it would be better to just use more chocolate chips. I couldn’t spread them think enough without tearing up the bottom layer. 


STEP SEVEN

Now you can put them in the fridge and go do something else for a while.



(It’s worth noting that you’ll need a pretty sturdy implement to lick the chocolate. It not only cools quickly, it cools hard.)



THE REST OF STEP SEVEN

I don’t think you should use a Teflon cookie sheet. That make it hard to cut these. They’re very solid. I managed to get one row out, then lifted the whole thing to a cutting sheet to use a sharp knife.


ALL DONE! They taste very good!



You’re allowed to ignore this part for a bit. 
Maybe the maid will show up.


I love to bake and used to like complicated recipes that took all day. Time has passed, however, and I gravitate toward easier recipes. 

Do you like to dirty every pan and spend a lot of time creating marvelous concoctions, or do you like simple, easy things to make?

Answer Kaye's question in the comments
and you will be entered to win an e-copy
of her new release (learn more below).

🔎


About Our Guest

Kaye George is a national-bestselling, multiple-award-winning author of pre-history, traditional, and cozy mysteries (her latest is the Vintage Sweets series from Lyrical Press), as well as over 50 short stories. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Smoking Guns chapter (Knoxville), Guppies chapter, Authors Guild of TN, Knoxville Writers Group, and Austin Mystery Writers. She lives and works in Knoxville, TN.


Keep in touch at:





🍭🍭🍭


COMING MARCH 9TH!


Spring has sprung in the charming tourist town of Fredericksburg, Texas, and one of the tastiest attractions is a trip to Tally’s Old Tyme Sweets—until a bizarre burglary leaves a bitter aftertaste. 

Learn more or pre-order
by clicking here



👇

KAYE'S GIVEAWAY (NOW OVER)

Answer Kaye's question in the comments (and include your email address) and you will be entered to win an e-copy of Kaye's new Vintage Sweet cozy mystery, Into the Sweet Hereafter. Kaye's question is...

Do you like to dirty every pan and spend a lot of time creating marvelous concoctions, or do you like simple, easy things to make? 

Congrats to Kaye's winner: 

Pat D.


31 comments:

  1. KAYE: I think even the most experienced baker has gone through what you did to make this recipe.

    BTW, do you know why they are called CLARK BARS?

    Me, I love to bake and I like trying new recipes instead of relying on my faves that I know by heart. But it really does depend on my mood and level of ambition whether I want a full sink of dirty pans and utensils at the end. I only have a small sink in the kitchen and never had a dishwasher.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really enjoy your books. Fredericksburg is one of my favorite places to visit (I live in theDallas/Fort Worth area). I prefer recipes that are simple and easy with a fairly short list of ingredients. cking78503(at)aol(dot)com.

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  3. Loved that last photo! And I love any recipe that calls for scrunching!

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  4. I just finished the ARC of "Into the Sweet Hereafter" Loved it. I don't like to cook. lol My GD likes to bake so she usually uses every dish and pan she can. I'll share your recipe with her.

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  5. Dirty pans? My husband is the king of dirty pans when he decides to cook. Me? I’m pretty organized so I wash up as I go. Love books with food! Joliver284@yahoo.com

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  6. It varies on what I feel in the mood to make for the day.
    Kitten143@verizon.net

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  7. I'm all about easy nowadays. The only recipe worth spending the day on is my mother's strawberry layer cake. Yum! It's a once every couple of years kind of thing. Thanks for the contest. ckmbeg (at) gmail (dot) com

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  8. You crack me up, as usual!

    All's well that ends with a chocolate treat! Yum.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I loved your commentary. Maybe if you didn't have to stop to take pictures, it would have been easier to get done. Next time you need to bring your cameraman, too. Seriously, that was such fun. I like easy recipes and sometimes just go buy it. lkish77123 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's a mixed deal.
    Sometimes I love the challenge of an extended food project. Especially since my husband usually does the major clean up.
    But other times I'd much rather just snap my fingers (or wish I were Samantha the witch and could wiggle my nose) and have food instantly ready.
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

    ReplyDelete
  11. I slept in today and am just getting here to see all the fun comments! Thanks, everyone, for the input. Grace, this is the recipe (modified a bit by me) that I got when I googled for them. I think this is about as close as you can get to a Clark Bar in a home kitchen. Maybe?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KAYE: Ok, thanks, I have never heard of or tried a Clark Bar. I had to Google it.

      Delete
    2. It was one of my favorites growing up. Maybe it was regional, I'm not sure. I grew up in the Midwest, northern IL.

      Delete
  12. Kaye, fancy finding you here writing about chocolate! Karen beat me to it--- as you always do crack me up! All I need is the chocolate chips and I'll soon be trying your easy recipe! I'm more of a savory cook than a baker,(and a messy one, tho' luckily hubby usually helps clean up) but we do enjoy baked treats, especially in this past year. I need to catch up on this series, too. Sounds right up my alley, and we so love Fredericksburg! lola777_22 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Simple, one-bowl recipes are my favorite! I don't have a dishwasher in my kitchen (I am the dishwasher), so the fewer dishes it takes, the better.

    These look so yummy! Thanks for stopping by.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I’ll dirty as many pots as needed...though I do clean up as I go along.

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  15. This recipe looks delicious and easy enough for me. I prefer an easy clean up , but it doesn't always work out that way. I try to wash as I go. Looking forward to reading this series.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  16. I tend to try to wash and tidy as I cook, it doesn't always work but that is always my goal. It can be fun to try complicated recipes that use more pots than usual, but I tend to do that only for special occasions. Thanks for sharing the Clark Bars recipe. It looks like a treat that I had tasted at a childhood friends house long ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oops, should have added:
      littlelamblst at yahoo dot com

      Delete
  17. Simple and easy, for sure. 🙂
    Denise Clemente, dlc1228@gmail.com.
    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I dirty as many things as possible including myself ☺️. I always wear an apron otherwise I'd be constantly doing laundry as well as cleaning up the kitchen mess. Thanks for the giggles
    sandra shenton thirteen at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  19. As I have gotten older I tend to like the simple ones.
    1cow0993(at)gmail(dot)com

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  20. I've never been the most adept cook, so simple and easy are best. But somehow I still manage to make a mess.
    wskwared(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  21. I hate cooking and cleaning. I used to prepare multi-course meals and bake. Now I just want a housekeeper and personal chef.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'm laughing, Kaye. Your skills are similar to mine. Yep, I've had to change to a larger bowl or pot when things got dangerous. And I'm excellent at spilling or stirring things right out of the bowl onto the counter.
    patdupuy@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Congratulations, Pat D, you are the winner of Kaye's giveaway! Enjoy Kaye's new mystery release, INTO THE SWEET HEREAFTER.

      Thanks to everyone who left comments and thanks especially to Kaye for being our guest this week.

      Delete
  23. I love to cook and bake. I can definitely make a mess in the kitchen and dirty all my pans. LOL. I just clean as I go. Works for me.

    Thanks for the chance!
    jarjm1980@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. At 70-something, I am in the kitchen all day to make something as simple as a tuna sandwich; so I definitely prefer recipes that are for simple, easy things to make now-a-days -- life is too short as it is.

    Leigh
    olivel0118@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. I prefer simple recipes. JL_Minter@Hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  26. In theory, I like simple! In reality, I go extra and use every pot, pan and spoon!

    ReplyDelete
  27. This giveaway is now closed to comments. Congratulations, Pat D, you are the winner of Kaye's new mystery release, INTO THE SWEET HEREAFTER.

    Thanks to everyone who left comments and thanks especially to Kaye for being our guest this week.

    ReplyDelete