Candy Cookie Bars

I decided to make these using some of the huge basket of candy my boys bought for all of our non-existent trick-or-treaters.  They were a good way to winnow down the amount of chocolate available to me for the ruination of my perpetual diet, and the boys liked them, too!

CANDY COOKIE BARS

1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg or 1/4 cup egg beaters
1-1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
optional: 1/2 cup salted peanuts
assorted candy: I used 5 mini bags peanut M&Ms, 5 mini hershey bars, quartered and 5 mini Milky Way bars, quartered

Cream the margarine and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in the egg, then add the dry ingredients, vanilla and milk.  Beat until combined, then stir in the candy and, if desired, peanuts.  Spread in a 9x11 baking pan; the mixture will barely fill the pan.  Bake at 350F for 24 to 26 minutes, until done.  During that time, the batter will spread and rise so the pan is nicely filled.  Let cool before cutting.

I made mine without the peanuts, and Ryan commented that they could have used more "crunch".  Dan, on the other hand, thought they were perfect.  Mark had no comment, which is par for the course, and better than him admitting that he didn't like it, because dislikes almost everything.

So, there you are: what to do with the Halloween candy that's taunting you.  Or maybe not, because these are pretty caloric, too.  Durn it!  So many dilemmas!

Happy Monday, everyone!