Hot dogs and hearty chili, spicy wings and chips, drippy dips and stuffed sub sandwiches: these are the foundations for Super Bowl Sunday. But I confess that after all that stuff, I crave something ridiculously sweet, an over-the-top treat that matches the excess of the food of the day.
So I made a batch of magic cookie bars. These are the easiest thing in the world. You know the drill: a packet of graham crackers mashed into crumbs (even easier if you just buy the crackers already crumbed), mixed into a cube of butter you've melted in a square 9 x9 pan. Make a simple crust of these two, open your cupboards and go to town.
Top the crust with a bag of chcolate chips, semi, milk or bitter (or a blend of all three). Add a layer of white chocolate chips or maybe peanut butter flavored or even the English toffee version. A good, thick cover of shredded coconut. Some chopped nuts, any kind you fancy (I did walnuts, but macadamia nuts lift this to a whole new level.). If dried cranberries or raisins are your thing, add them, too, or any finely chopped dried fruit.
Open a can of sweet condensed milk and pour it over the entire thing, criss crossing to cover every last corner and every single chip and flake. You can purchase a low-fat version of the condensed milk, but really, why bother when you're going for broke on all the goodies on top?
When you're done with the sticky stuff, bake it for about 20 minutes at 350. Be very attentive to the oven --- you may want to do this just prior to the game starting so you don't get distracted. The magic cookie bars are absolutely the best when they are lightly browned on top, but still sort of soft. If they get overcooked, they are okay, too, but much better when the chocolate layers melt in your mouth. Let them sit for 10 minutes or so. Delish eaten when slightly warm, but really just fine at any temperature.
After all the hearty,salty, broke-in-da-mouth tastes of the other food you're enjoying on Sunday, these are a fitting finale. They might put you over the top, foodwise, but you won't regret it. (And we always enjoyed these back in Wisconsin, watching the Packers...but that's another story...)