Chocolate Revel Bars

Cleveland was a great choice for a boys weekend road trip. The food there wasn't spectacular with the exception of Rock Bottom. The Rock Bottom brewpub had decent food (salmon fish and chips, one of my favorites) and an excellent stout.

For the road, Meredith made us some chocolate revel bars (without nuts of course -- we saved some for Jacob) and lemon squares. The revel bars held up well in the car, but the lemon squares were a bit messy, so we saved those until we got back to the hotel.

Chocolate Revel Bars

• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together 1 cup butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Mix in eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla. In another bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt; stir into butter mixture. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, heat sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 teaspoons of vanilla.
4. Pat 2/3 of the oat mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over the top, and dot with remaining oat mixture.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in preheated oven. Let cool on a wire rack, then cut into bars. 

(based on Chocolate Revel Bars from Better Homes and Gardens)
Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen