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{Just Like Mom Made} Mars Bars Squares

If you have been reading the blog long enough, you know that my mother passed away almost three years ago.  There are so many things I wish I had the chance to ask her, and so many things I wish I knew… including some of the food she made!   I would seriously give anything to have homemade chicken soup the way she made it – even my culinary trained husband can’t recreate it.

When I was growing up, my mom always kept her favourite recipes in an index card holder (a practice that I actually adopted when I moved out to university).  I’d imagine that the original plan was to neatly print every favorite recipe onto an index card and organize them in the box, but let’s be real.  My mom had five children.  You can imagine how much time she had for that.  So the index box ended up being a mishmashed mix of scrap paper and magazine cutouts.
After my mom passed, my brother laid claim to that little yellow index card holder, even though he doesn’t cook or bake, but none of us were going to fight over anything, which we amazingly didn’t.  I did however find some loose recipes on scraps of paper that I snatched up and now hold very dear because they were hers.  Some of them I have never tried, and she labelled things with the weirdest names.  Banana Loaf?  Thanks mom, the rest of the world calls it Banana Bread.  And Chocolate Custard Bars?  Oh… you mean Nanaimo Bars?  Geesh.  And I think my mom had an affinity for candy bar recipes – of the handful I managed to keep, we have Twix bars, Kit Kat dessert, and Mars Bars Squares.  The recipe cards are old and yellowed, and some are torn by now, but I still love them.  
Maybe this had to do with the weird labelling, but when we were growing up, we never called things “squares”.  They were “cookies”.  Like rice krispie cookies, not rice krispie squares.  So this recipe, to us, was always Mars Bars Cookies.  This caused great dissention between my husband and I, who insisted cookies must be baked.  I still call them cookies, but for your sake, I will call these squares.
This is the easiest and quickest recipe there is.  I’m even going to say its easier than rice krispie “cookies” because you don’t have to deal with the mess of marshmallows.  Four ingredients, less than ten minutes, and there you have it – chewy, caramel-y, crunchy goodness, just like mom made them… or my mom anyway!

I hope you enjoy!  They are best enjoyed cold, on your deck, with a bunch of girlfriends!

Mars Bars Squares

2 cups rice krispies cereal
4 Mars bars
1/2 cup butter
1-1/2 cups chocolate chips
1. Melt butter and Mars bars in the microwave
2. Stir in cereal and pour into a greased 8×8 baking dish
3. Melt chocolate and pour over the top.  
4. Refrigerate to set, then cut into squares.
5. Try not to eat them all in one sitting.  (This step is the hardest.)

P.S.  I sent a few home with a friend, and the next day I received this text: “Those squares were amazing.  They had cereal in them so I decided to eat them for breakfast”.  I love my friends!

About Sarah

Sarah Desjardins is a mother of two girls, a wife, an elementary school teacher, and a self proclaimed glitter addict. The Simply Crafted Life is a place for anyone who wants to make their domestic life more beautiful and creative. Sarah started The Simply Crafted Life as a place to find bliss between the diapers and the dishes, and invites you to do the same.

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Comments

  1. Lisa @ akawest says

    Aw, your post is so sweet, in so many ways. I also have cherished recipes. Mine don;t sport odd names, but strange abbreviations.
    I always writ on my recipes, and in cookbooks, in hopes that when i am gone, someone will enjoy thinking of me. That sounds strange…oh, well.

    Reply

  2. Jill @ Create.Craft.Love. says

    Love this post and the recipe too! My dad has my mom’s recipes. At Christmas when I go out to his house to bake cookies with him, we whip them out and I get all nostalgic. I love going through those recipes. And I love seeing them in her handwriting. I think I may grab them and scan them into my computer so I can re-create them. Actually, I am going out there today. That may be my next project!! =)

    Reply

  15. Tauni says

    Great treat, but the story was even better. Thanks for sharing on Show & Tell at SNAP!

    BTW, I noticed you’re joining us in April. Very excited to see you!

    xoxo

    Reply

  16. shadowhaswings says

    The sweet notes about your Mother is so precious, I’ve lost my Mother also, and feel the same way about what I now wish I could ask her. I lost her early with Dementia, long before she passed.
    The recipes, yes I too, wished I would have cooked along with her, learned more the way she did things.
    I just discovered your blog, I don’t have one as yet, but I am so impressed/moved by all the wonderful ladies/women/young ladies who are so creative every day and share it all. To all of you I want you to know how much it is appreciated. Thank you! Debbie from the Northwest

    Reply

  22. s'mee says

    These looks pretty tempting, thanks for sharing the recipe!
    Oh, and to stretch the debate further: if you put raw food in a pot on top of the stove it “cooks” or “sautes”, etc., it can be defined by a myriad of methods. However raw food placed into an oven, “bakes” so technically, what most of us call “cookies” should be called “bakies”. : ) Not sure why this has never caught on! lol

    Reply

  24. Rebecca says

    Making these today! Just wondering…did you use milk chocolate chips since the bars have milk chocolate? Btw…cannit find Mars bars here in Virginia, so I’m substituting with MilkyWay. Hope they still turn out as good as yours!

    Reply

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