Gooey Chocolate Bars

Happy first day of Fall to everyone! I'm ready for all of the great things that Autumn brings our way: Football, changing leaves, cooler weather and the holidays. When this time of year comes, I want to get out the decorations from the attic; the pumpkins that light-up, floral arrangements with silk leaves in them, and I still have some lingering Halloween stuff.

I have to admit that I have a silly, dancing and singing mummy, Gremlins with eyes that glow in the dark and light-up jack-o-lanterns. These items were the signal, when my children were young, that Fall had arrived. I know that it's more practical and less work to just go with a general Fall theme when decorating, but, if you have had children or grandchildren around, it's often a different story. They expect some silly or spooky decorations for Trick-or-Treat season. After October is over, I then use the other Fall decorations until Thanksgiving is past.

Speaking of children, the recipe that I'm sharing today came from a play group that I was a part of when Ben was little. Play groups are a great way for toddlers to learn to socialize with others their age, and a wonderful outlet for Moms to chat with other adults and have fun watching their children interact. This is how I met five other Moms from my subdivision, and most importantly, my friend, Sarah Dupont. Sarah and I have been friends for years now, and though we're thousands of miles apart, we still keep in touch.

Our play group started when two brave moms (who were walking-strolling buddies) found out which stay-at-home moms in our neighborhood had children in the 2-5 year old age group. They then went door to door inviting us to attend the first play group held in one of their homes. We signed up to each host one per month (we broke for summer months when our other children were home) and the rest is history. We kept snacks simple for the little ones: animal crackers, raisins, apple juice. The mommy snacks were much better, and involved coffee and tea! That's where I got this recipe for Gooey Chocolate Bars. Enjoy!


Gooey Chocolate Bars
Sarah Dupont, Columbus, Ohio

1 box of Devil's Food cake mix
1 stick of butter
1 egg
Mix together and pat into greased 9x13" pan.

Then mix:
8 oz. package of cream cheese
1 box of powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 C chopped nuts

Pour over cake ingredients in the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 min. Make a pot of coffee or hot tea and you're all set!

I'll be joining BlessedwithGrace, Rose Colored Glasses, BalancingBeautyandBedlam and Gypsy's Corner today for the recipe swaps.