Cooking Light Butterscotch Bars

April 2009 Cooking Light Butterscotch Bars

After checking the comments on the MyRecipes website, I tweaked the recipe a little -

• Reducing the flour by 1/4 cup to 1 3/4
• Reducing the oats by 1/2 cup to 2 cups
• Bumping up the sweetened condensed milk to a little over a cup
• Tossing in a few more butterscotch chips
• I also only microwaved the milk and chips for 2 20-second bursts. The chips were about halfway melted when I poured and spread over the crust
• Used unsalted butter
• Eliminated the walnuts
• And instead of using a 9 x 13 pan, I used a 8 3/4 x 11 1/2" pan, lined with foil sprayed with cooking spray for easy removal
• I also utilized the great tip about using a pizza cutter to slice into serving size - after it has cooled completely

With these changes, I didn't have any of the difficulties others previously had with dryness, burning, etc. They are gooey and chewy and yummy!

While you may look askance at the serving size - 1" - seriously, a little dab will do ya! They are very rich. And you know, when you have something this good, you don't need that much to satisfy.

Hot and bubbly right out of the oven! --->

Ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Cooking spray
3/4 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 cups butterscotch morsels (about 8 ounces)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl. Stir in vanilla and egg. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, oats, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Add oat mixture to sugar mixture; stir with a fork until combined (mixture will be crumbly). Place 3 cups oat mixture into the bottom of a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray; press into bottom of pan. Set aside.
3. Place sweetened condensed milk, butterscotch morsels, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until butterscotch morsels melt, stirring every 20 seconds. Stir in walnuts. Scrape mixture into pan, spreading evenly over crust. Sprinkle evenly with remaining oat mixture, gently pressing into butterscotch mixture. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Place pan on a cooling rack; run a knife around outside edge. Cool completely.

Nutritional Information -
Calories: 148 ...Fat: 5.1g (sat 2.7g,mono 0.9g,poly 1.1g)...Protein: 2.6g...Carbohydrate: 23.4g...Fiber: 0.8g...Cholesterol: 11mg...Iron: 0.8mg...Sodium: 87mg...Calcium: 31mg