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| See all the chewey, gooey, goodness in these Winks?? |
See, I went to a family reunion back over Memorial Day. You know how family reunions are - everybody brings what they think is their specialty, what they are going to get the most oooooh's and ahhhhhh's over, or what they think will be popular enough for folks to ask for the recipe. Oh, and I HATE it when people are recipe snobs. If you bring something for people to eat, and everyone loves it and asks for the recipe, how you gonna say, "Hmmmmmmm. It's a secret recipe." Well then, I say, keep the dish a secret too!!
But anyway, I digress. See, my cousin P.D. (everyone pronounces it Petey - and he's actually my mom's first cousin, which I believe makes him my first cousin, once removed) hosts a large gathering each year at his house way out in the boonies of Arkansas. He and his son B-B-Q some of the best pig on the planet!!. And P.D.'s wife, Mildred is kind of in charge of the setting up and what-knot. And you know, being the "hostess", (even if you're not crazy about having your husband's very large, and very loud family tromp all over your back yard) you feel like you have to really put on a good dessert show. So upon arrival, Mildred has the dessert table in full swing, with several meringue pies, cobblers, a fancy fruit tray, and stuck down on the end - all by themselves - like, like maybe she thought people wouldn't be impressed - were these little dessert bar looking thingies. They weren't anything fancy, and let me tell ya, Mildred must eat like a bird, cause they were cut into teeny-tiny little bites. So since they were so small, geez, hardly nothing at all, really, I went ahead and popped one into my pie-hole.
Have mercy. They were sooooo delicious. And like nothing I had ever had before. There was something in it that I could not identify, but it was tickling my tastebuds and they were begging for more. So naturally, I went to track down the recipe.
Me: "Mildred!! What are those bars? They are so good!! I can tell they have walnuts in them, but what else is in there? It's not raisins, is it?"
Mildred: (WINKS at me and shoots me a mysterious smile) "They are good. Aren't they?" (Turns around and walks off!!)
Me: Mouth opened, jaw dropped, just standing there looking like an idiot.......No Way!! She is not going to tell me what is in them. Is she gonna be a recipe snob??? (My head is spinning with indignation!! After all, we are FAMILY!!)
So I proceed to find my mama - so I can tell on her.
As it turns out, Mildred was not a recipe snob, although, it took took a little bit of work to get the recipe out of her. She just kept winking and smiling that smile. 'Bout drove me crazy!! I guess she was thinking that turn about was fair play, because she said it took her 3 months to get the recipe from a co-worker. Now 3 months of holding out on a recipe.........you're in very snobbish territory!!
But I won't keep you waiting any longer, here is the recipe for "Mildred Winks" - maybe you could just call them "Winks" for short!!
1 Box Yellow Cake Mix
1 1/2 sticks butter - MELTED
2 eggs
3/4 Cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
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| Duncan Hines cake mixes are my favorite, but Aldi has a really good inexpensive yellow cake mix, also. |
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| See, it's a really thick dough. |
2 cups chopped dates (Ahh-ha!! The ingredient I couldn't identify)
2 cups English walnuts
Stir until evenly distributed. It will be very, very thick - more like cookie dough than cake batter. Spread (or pat with your fingers) in a 9 X 13 pan and bake for 35 - 40 minutes. Check it at 35, don't over cook it.
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| Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake baker's man....... |
Obviously, these are great for a family reunion, or a work place luncheon, or a church dinner. They also make great bake sale items individually wrapped. Or, you can make them for yourself and your family.
I would tell ya that they will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container at room temperature - but they never last that long around my house. ENJOY!!!
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| I cut mine a little bigger than cousin Mildred!! |
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