My 1st Foray Into Baking

I don't really like to bake. For one, I end up eating the ingredients during the baking process; and for two, I'm way more likely to eat an entire batch of cookies in one day than 4-servings of risotto or what not. Plus, baking usually involves more fat and calories. But it was bound to happen sooner or later and sooner came yesterday. With Superbowl Sunday being today I decided I would make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.

The baking process was actually way easier than expected, though I ended up with flour all over the kitchen the final product was worth it! Mmmmmm...

All the ingredients laid out in preparation.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
4 egg whites
2 tbsp skim milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients (oil, brown sugar, white sugar, egg whites, skim milk, vanilla, salt). Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture resembles caramel sauce and the sugars have dissolved.

In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients (oats, flour, baking soda, chocolate chips). Stir until just combined. Add to liquid mixture. Transfer to a lightly greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

Bake 15-20 minutes until golden (*I baked it for 22.5 minutes). Remove from oven and allow to cool until firm. Cut into 24 squares and store tightly covered for up to 5 days.

The directions confused me a little because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to mix all the ingredients together before transferring to the pan (which I did a little) or not. I'm thinking maybe I wasn't supposed to because then when I poured it into the pan the flour mixture would be more at the bottom, covered by the liquid mixture. When I did it, it was a mix and the final product turned out a little crumbly. Below is the final product to take to a Superbowl party. Though crumbly, I must say they are mighty delicious! But I think anything oatmeal-chocolate chip is gonna be good. And for WW it's 4 pts per square.