Easy Cookie Squares

It's cooled down - yay! I never thought I'd be so glad to see clouds, rain, and even fog! In celebration, I baked. I wanted to make something using my huckleberries, but I didn't know what. I got out my trusty Cookie Bible, which I seemed to recall had some blueberry squares in it that I could have made using huckleberries instead. I was right, there was one square recipe that would have been suitable, but it required a certain type of muffin mix I didn't have and have no intention of acquiring. But I did find this recipe for Easy Cookie Bars that looked pretty good, so I made them instead.

Easy Cookie Bars (adapted by moi)

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

1. Mix together butter & cracker crumbs. Press into parchment-lined 9" square pan.

2. Sprinkle the base with the coconut, chocolate, and nuts. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top.

3. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or so, or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan.

OK. I had to adapt this recipe because the original wasn't going to work. The original recipe called for a 9x13" pan, but there was no way I was going to get that base into that size pan. I even tried pressing it into a 10" square pan and that wasn't going to work, either. I ended up using a 9" pan and that was perfect for the amount of base ingredients. However, I had to reduce the amount of coconut from 1 1/3 cups to 1 cup as the original amount would have been way too much. Now, because I was adapting on the go, I realized that I was going to have too much sweetened condensed milk for this size pan, too, but I used the whole amount as I didn't want just a little bit kicking around (that stuff is dangerous!). It was probably too much as the squares didn't set properly and didn't brown evenly.
The end result: a bit of a mess. The graham cracker base didn't stay together & disintegrated when I lifted a square out to taste. The squares were also quite gooey, and as I said, didn't set well. Taste-wise, they are very sweet, which is fine, but not terribly exciting.
I probably won't make these again. I won't say these are a waste of time & ingredients because I will find a way to freeze them, but even though there were super easy to make, they just didn't live up to my expectations. But, onwards & upwards, eh? At least it was cool enough to bake, and for that I'm very grateful!