Tea and Valentine's Bar Recipe

Due to a great response to the Peppermint Bar recipe from the holidays, I decided to try modifying it for Valentine's treats. Instead of the candy canes, I used red, pink and white Valentine M&Ms.

You could serve these for a Valentine's Tea with friends or at a larger party. We recommend pairing these bars with a mellow tea like Kenilworth Ceylon black tea or Chocolate Honeybush (caffeine-free). 

Ingredients
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
1 cup sugar
⅔ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups Valentines M&Ms
1 cup brown or white chocolate chips
1-3 t. vegetable oil (to thin topping)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 13 inch by 18 inch baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray or cover with a light layer of melted butter.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl stir in melted butter, both sugars and vanilla until smooth. Stir in flour mixture until just blended. Stir in 1 cup of the M&Ms.

Press dough onto the lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until dough looks just barely set and golden (do not to bake too long or they will be hard to cut).

After removing from oven, set a timer for 5 min. When timer goes off, take a knife and score the bars into pieces (small squares or triangles). Allow bars to finish cooling.

When cool, melt the chocolate chips in microwave 30 sec at a time until melted. Drizzle over bars. If you need to thin the chocolate glaze, add a few drops of vegetable oil to chocolate.

Sprinkle remaining M&Ms over glaze and allow to set. Then cut or break them into squares or triangle pieces.  Depending on the size of your pieces, this makes enough to serve at a party and have some leftover. Enjoy!