Sneaky Oatmeal Bars
adapted from a recipe by our friend Miss Ina Pinkney

You'll need:

• 2 sticks of butter
• 2 1/2 cups of sugar
• 3 1/2 cups of molasses
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla
• 3 1/2 cup of flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 4 cups of rolled oats or regular oat meal
• 2 cups of raisins
• 1 cup walnuts optional
• A 12 x 18 sheet pan with sides
• Parchment paper
• A hand mixer

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put the butter and sugar into the bowl. Use a hand mixer to "cream" them together. You want the mixture to be light and fluffy.
3. Next add the eggs, the molasses and the vanilla. Mix everything together until it has a smooth texture and is a lovely light brown.
4. In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients ­ the flour, the baking soda, the salt and the cinnamon. Stir them together until well mixed.
5. Now you're going to add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture. You want to do this a little at a time so it mixes well. We found that teamwork helped a lot. One person uses the mixer, while the other person uses a measuring cup to shake a little of the flour mixture in at a time.
6. Once that flour has disappeared into the batter pour in a little more. Repeat these steps until all the dry ingredients are gone.
7. Clean the batter off the mixer beaters and put the mixer aside.
8. This is the muscle building part! Put the oatmeal, raisins and nuts into the bowl. Use a big spoon or a spatula to mix the oatmeal into the batter. This might be a time you need to ask for help.
9. Cut parchment paper to fit the bottom of the sheet pan to make sure the bars won't stick.
10. Pour the mixture out of the bowl and onto the parchment paper.
11. Next is the messy part. The mixture is very sticky and you'll need to pat it all the way to the corners of the pan. Putting plenty of flour on your hands will keep the mixture from sticking to you. Using your "well floured hands" pat the mixture down and out until the whole pan is filled.
12. Put the pan in the oven for 30 minutes. You want the edges to be crispy but the center to be slightly soft.
13. Take the pan out of the oven and let it cool completel, then slice into 24 bars.