DOOMSDAY BARS!!!!!!

For many years I've been attending a music festival called Blue Skies. I can't really describe it, it's very hippie-oriented, but most people I know who've gone make it their own, regardless of their place on the hippie spectrum. The festival involves camping for 3-4 days and I started going when I was 18. I still remember thinking "I should bring something special for this".



It happened that a few years earlier my mother had been given a recipe for these peanut butter-Special K squares that boasted little fat (but a crapton of sugar). They were ridiculously tasty in that sugar shock kinda way. In fact, the recipe I posted a couple of months ago for ice cream topping is based on this dessert. Anyhoo, faced with this onslaught of sweet, my brother Mike coined the name Doomsday Bars (which has since spawned Diablo Bars, Doomy Goodness, "where the hell are they, Nick?", and many others). As it turned out they were ridiculously easy to make. Messy as hell, it might help to have a dishwasher person standing by, but super-easy. There's no baking involved, just melting, mixing, shaping, spreading and cutting.



So, with that in mind, I started making Doomsday Bars to bring to Blue Skies. They were a complete hit and are now a tradition. There was one year I didn't make them because I was living in a house with 4 other people and didn't think they'd appreciate me covering the kitchen in sticky mess. But, for 17 years, I've brought these treats. I'm hoping others will follow my example and bring their own. I've posted the recipe on Facebook, sent it to friends, and basically begged people to make their own so that I don't get stuck with not having enough AGAIN!

Oh, I also brought a topping-free version to Burning Man. THAT was awesome!


Alright, here's the recipe for a "Blue-Skies" sized order of Doomsday Bars. Great for camping trips when you need a rush of energy. Keep them out of the sun or the topping will melt. Make sure you have a fairly large container for them, about a foot wide.


Doomsday Bars

- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups corn syrup
- 3 cups peanut butter (chunky)
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract (imitation is fine)
- 12 cups Special K/Rice Krispies style cereal


Bars

- Place cereal in a large mixing bowl

- Melt sugar & syrup together in a pot/saucepan at medium-high heat

- Add peanut butter and vanilla and mix till “sauce” is melted, keep stirring to avoid peanut butter burning

- Pour melted mixture over cereal and mix together with large spoon (you could use your hands, but the melted stuff is like napalm)

- Split mixture in to two lasagna-style pans, shape to pan so entire layer is of even thickness

- Refrigerate

Topping

- Melt together 1 package each of chocolate and butterscotch chips in a pot over medium-low heat; don't microwave, it gets messy)

- Pour over bars and spread like icing with rubber or silicon spatula

Finishing touches

- Return bars to fridge until topping solidifies (about 1-2 hours)

- Remove from fridge and allow 2-3 hours to soften *at room temperature*

- Cut into bars, about 4-5 cm (2 inches) wide - This is a difficult process, these things aren't easy to cut through. I suggest using a knife with a big strong blade.

- Store in container away from sources of heat or light.

- Barter for other foods, drugs, sexual favours, etc...


And that's that. Enjoy!