Thursday's Cookie recipe

See, I'm on the second recipe and I'm already late! I guess it's evident why I didn't promise...

It's been a pretty hectic week. We have a wedding to go to on Saturday, a friend of Randy's family. It's the second wedding for both the bride and groom so they don't need a lot of "things" as gifts but money is so impersonal that I hate to give just straight cash. One of the things that did come up is that they need some coffee cups. So I hatched the idea to find them some really cool mugs and then make up some coffee mixes to include in the box...that with a little cash seemed like the perfect idea to us...right up until I thought TRUFFLES! Lol. So now, I have three coffee mixes, one hot cocoa mix, and one orange dreamsicle mix (the groom has an eleven year old daughter) made and bagged up, ingredients to make two kinds of truffles in the morning...and we STILL haven't found the "perfect" mugs! I swear...well, actually, I'd better not here, but if I could, I bet there's a perfect expression for this situation!

And then aside from that, I'm excited to be a Baking GALS host, getting that set up, and I'm busy planning the November Crazy Cookie Bake. I have the initial schedules done and the ingredient lists passed out...earlier than any previous year and a good thing too with the price of groceries...hopefully everyone can get things on sale.

So anyway, there's my excuses, now here's your recipe:
This is a family favorite. Growing up, my mom used to make an extra batch of these because my brother would eat one entire batch by himself...frozen! She would bake early, freeze a few batches, and come back to find only half of the turtle bars left. My brother has always been the skinniest one of the family and doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, but for some reason he loves these particular goodies.

Turtle Bars
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
2/3 cup margarine (yes, you need more)
1/2 cup brown sugar (and more)
1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (that's just a handful less than a full 12oz bag, wink, wink)

For crust, beat first three ingredients for 2 or 3 minutes at medium speed. Pat firmly into ungreased 9 by 13 pan.

Press pecan halves firmly into crust. It is a little tedious, but they look so much nicer if you try to put them in half-way straight rows.

For caramel layer, in a saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir the 2/3 cup margarine and 1/2 cup brown sugar til boiling. Boil for 30 seconds, remove from heat and pour evenly over the crust and pecans.

Bake for 20 minutes in a 325 degree oven, or until the caramel layer is bubbly. Remove from the oven. Immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Wait 2 or 3 minutes for them to melt, then spread them evenly over the top with the back of a spoon.

Cool completely before cutting. They work best cut into 1 inch squares and freeze well...AND, they're even good frozen...I'll give you my brother's number if you don't believe me!