Requisite Fast Day Food Post: Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars Edition

Note: In keeping with a longstanding Our Shiputzim tradition, the waning hours of a [very long!] fast day are dedicated to blogging about food.

It’s that age-old dilemma: Which homemade treats should you send back with your son the IDF soldier, when he returns to his base on Sunday morning?

At the recommendation of several Our Shiputzim readers, chocolate swirl blondies have become our default choice. (In fact, OS even had a batch with him during the weeklong Operation Pillar of Defense.)

Not only are they very easy to make, but they’re always a huge hit with OS’s fellow soldiers.

For instance, during basic training, one soldier took a bite and then - waxing lyrical – announced to the rest of the unit, “He who never tasted these cookies has never tasted delicious cookies in his life!”

But as parents of Israeli soldiers are all too aware, the vagaries of military life are such that providing one’s son with freshly-baked treats isn’t always an option.

Often, a soldier home on leave will receive a last-minute phone call from his commanding officer – to the effect that due to unforeseen circumstances, the soldier must report back to base within a few hours and won’t be home for Shabbat after all.

Last week, this exact scenario played out here in TRLEOOB*.

Fortunately, however, a quick look in the freezer revealed that one of the wonderful Shiputzim daughters had recently tried her hand at a different type of bar.

Unsurprisingly, they also proved to be extremely popular with OS and his friends:

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

Adapted from here.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup canola oil
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 TBSP hot water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups oats (i.e. kvaker, for the Hebraically-oriented amongst you)
• 1 package chocolate chips

Directions

Combine oil and sugars. Beat in eggs, water, and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, and oats, and mix well. Add chocolate chips, and mix through.

Place batter in a baking-paper-lined 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. Let cool in pan before cutting into bars.

!צום קל ומועיל

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*TRLEOOB=the real life equivalent of our blog