Incredible Breakfast Goodies

from Anne Montgomery

In my quest to discover the world’s greatest chocolate desert, I took a bit of a left turn and discovered the world’s greatest chocolate breakfast. These delightful squares have wholesome ingredients, yes they do. Oatmeal, for one. You know, the stuff with fiber and all those heart-healthy nutrients. Then there’s dark chocolate that lowers our blood pressure and provides antioxidants. And let’s not forget the nuts: those wee power-packed pieces of protein that provide something delightfully called “good-fat.” And then…and then…OK, there are some other things in these babies that are really unhealthy, but something’s going to kill us. Death by Chocolate Oatmeal Bar might not be a bad way to go.

Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1½ cups semisweet chocolate cut into pieces
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp. butter
½ cup chopped walnuts
2 tbsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F

Stir together oats, flour, baking soda, and salt.

Cream butter in a large mixer bowl. Add brown sugar. Beat until fluffy.

Add eggs and 2 tsp. vanilla. Beat well.

Add dry ingredients. Beat well.

Melt chocolate pieces, condensed milk, and butter in a heavy saucepan or double boiler. Remove from heat. Stir in chopped nuts and 2 tbsp. vanilla.

Pat ⅔ of oat mixture into the bottom of a 15X10X1 inch baking dish.

Spread chocolate mixture on top.

Dot with remaining oat mixture.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until oat mixture is lightly browned. (The chocolate layer will still look moist.)

Cool on a wire rack.

Here's a brief introduction to my soft mystery for your reading pleasure while you much those yummy bars.

A Light in the Desert traces the story of a pregnant teenager who bears an odd facial deformity, a Vietnam veteran and former Special Forces sniper who, as he descends into the throes of mental illness, latches onto the girl, and a group of Pentecostal zealots – the Children of Light – who have been waiting over thirty years in the Arizona desert for Armageddon.

The Amtrak Sunset Limited, a passenger train en route to Los Angeles, is derailed in their midst’s, a deadly act of sabotage. Their lives are thrown into turmoil when local and state police, FBI investigators, and a horde of reporters make camp by the twisted wreckage of the Sunset Limited. As the search for the saboteurs continues, the authorities find more questions than answers. The girl mysteriously vanishes, the assassin struggles to maintain his sanity, and a child is about to be born in the wilderness.

To read more from A Light in the Desert please click a vendor's name: Sarah Book Publishing - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Anne Montgomery has worked as a television sportscaster, newspaper and magazine writer, teacher, amateur baseball umpire, and high school football referee. She worked at WRBL‐TV in Columbus, Georgia, WROC‐TV in Rochester, New York, KTSP‐TV in Phoenix, Arizona, ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, where she anchored the Emmy and ACE award‐winning SportsCenter, and ASPN-TV as the studio host for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Montgomery has been a freelance and staff writer for six publications, writing sports, features, movie reviews, and archeological pieces.

When she can, Anne indulges in her passions: rock collecting, scuba diving, football refereeing, and playing her guitar.

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