earthquake bars (aka i’m so vain)

i’ll admit it: i have issues. i want my tasty treats to look tasty…is that so wrong? while i completely understand that things can taste good even when they don’t look good, i have also learned that presentation is important, especially if i want to make money. my other issue, apparently, is that i can’t figure out the correct amount of time to let something chill before slicing. sometimes i cut too soon and end up with layers mixing, which is admittedly better than when i wait too long, which you can see here, as well as my disfigured yet delicious rainbow cookies.

since i was reluctant to send my usual e-mail with photo enticing my coworkers to come by my desk to enjoy treats and potentially tip me enough to make up for the cost of ingredients (a fellow coworker put out a collection jar for me bc i felt too guilty asking for money when these people are technically my taste-testers), i decided to put them out in the kitchen instead. i know, i am ashamed of having done this, i should have just put them out at my desk, next time i promise you that no matter how ugly a treat, i will. the other problem was that i like to individually wrap my treats so that people aren’t skeeved out by everyone else attempting to grab a handful, but that would have been really difficult in this case.

anyways, shortly after putting them out i started hearing ‘oooh’s and ‘ahhh’s and ‘who made these’ coming from the kitchen. a few folks figured out that it was me and let me know how great they were,so i guess this recipe is a keeper, i just need to make sure the chocolate does not set too long next time! oh…through all this explaining, i forgot to tell you where the recipe came from. i’m going to toot my own horn for a moment and say that i am used to my desserts being the most raved about when i go to a party, so when i went to a halloween party last year and someone else’s treats got the spotlight, i decided that i would have to try them out. i didn’t mean to wait a year to do so, but funny how it worked out that way– i was in the grocery store and picked up a ton of graham cracker crumbs, so i was looking through my recipes for more uses for them. it turns out that this recipe came from friend tamara , though i found it by way of danielle (who will be my neighbor in 2 weeks– woohoo! let the food sharing commence!). check out their blogs when you get a chance  [o:

Ingredients:
3 cups confectioners sugar
3 sticks of melted butter
1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cup crushed graham crackers
3 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Mix all ingredients except chocolate in 9 x 11′ Pyrex dish (Smush it with the back of your spoon)
Melt chocolate (about 30-45 seconds in the microwave, in 15 minute increments to stir)
Spread chocolate over top of peanut butter concoction
Cool in the fridge until hard
Slice & Enjoy!