Supremes

This recipe is from Maida Heatter's Cookies. She says: These are rich walnut-oatmeal bars with a baked-in sweet chocolate filling. The recipe gives a large yield and the cookies are generally best stored in the refrigerator and served cold.

They're all that and more. Everyone just loves these, they make a ton, and they freeze well. What's kind of funny is that I've never cared for them that much. But I'm the only one, believe me.

Supremes

Makes 32 to 48 large or 64 small bars

2-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks) butter
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
3 cups old-fashioned or quick-cooking oatmeal
7 ounces (2 cups) walnuts, cut or broken into medium pieces

Chocolate Filling:

1 15-oz can sweetened condensed milk
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons butter
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla


Adjust a rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat to 350°. Butter a 15-1/2 x 10-1/2 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter. Add the coffee, vanilla, and sugar. Beat well. Add the eggs and beat well. On low speed gradually beat in the sifted dry ingredients and then the oatmeal, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary. Finally mix in 1 cup of the walnuts (reserve the remainder for the topping).

Remove and reserve 2 cups of the dough. Place the remainder by large spoonfuls over the bottom of the buttered pan. With well-floured finger-tips press all over to make a smooth, even layer. Set aside and prepare the following filling.

Chocolate Filling:

Place the condensed milk, chocolate, butter, and salt in the top of a large double-boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted and the mixture is smooth. (I live on the wild side by just using a regular pan and stirring continually over low heat.)

Remove the top of the double-boiler from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the warm chocolate mixture over the bottom oatmeal layer and spread evenly. Place the reserved oatmeal mixture by small spoonfuls over the chocolate, letting the chocolate show through between the spoonfuls. Do not spread smooth. Sprinkle the reserved cup of walnuts evenly over the top.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Reverse the pan front to back once toward the end of baking to insure even browning. (I also don't reverse the pan. A daredevil, that's me.) The top mounds will flatten slightly but they will not run together to cover the chocolate.

Cool completely in pan at room temperature (not in the refrigerator) for several hours. Cut into bars. If cookies are too soft to cut, place in the refrigerator for a few minutes before cutting.