Celebration Bars

I never had made many bar cookies before I met SPH. He is a big fan of bar cookies and after I realized how easy they can be, so am I! I once thought you needed a special "bar cookie" recipe in order to bake good bars, but now I know almost any cookie dough can be pressed into a 9x13 or 9x9 baking dish, with delicious ease. Instead of taking the time to shape ball after ball of dough, you simply press and make sure the dough is even. The trickiest part of the process is just adjusting the time to make sure the cookie bakes evenly, but this can be done relatively easily. I recently used this technique to pull off a fun and festive bar cookie for the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. My beloved Buckeyes were playing (and won! Goooo Bucks!) in the Rose Bowl, so a special dessert was in order. My other beloved Buckeyes are so wonderful to eat, but a real time-consuming dessert treat to make. So instead I made Buckeye Bars, complete with a block O in the middle. I used my all-time favorite peanut butter cookie dough recipe, pressed it into a 9x9 glass baking dish and then did some simple drawings on top with a toothpick: I baked it for 25-30 minutes and then added some chocolate features, and returned it the oven for 5 more minutes: I've frequently made Buckeyes before for the Bucks' big games, but this may be my new tradition! SPC