PORTLAND FOOD PHOTOGRAPHER- TURTLE BARS

Courtesy of Aubrie LeGault and Portland Food Photographer

I am excited that I have the honor of being a sponsored blogger for the Portland Culinary Alliance (or PCA).  If you haven’t heard of PCA yet, I encourage you to check out their website.  If you’re involved in the culinary scene (in any way!) this would be a great organization to join.  Or if you really just love food and different events/classes I would check out their events calendar.  Anyone can attend the events.  They have two exciting events coming up next week.  This Sunday (12/6) is the Cookbook Social at Imperial. There will be over 20 local chefs, bartenders and writers and their cookbooks!  Cookbooks make a great Christmas gift- and they are even better with an author signature.  The event is from 1-3 PM.
The second event is all about the cookies!  PCA is hosting a holiday cookie exchange on Thursday, December 10th at 7 PM. The event is at a local home, when you sign-up for the event you’ll receive the address.  When I thought about this event I immediately contacted my mother back in Indiana for her Turtle Cake Brownies recipe.  It’s a family favorite around the holidays.  I will share the recipe and a few photos of those gooey chocolate bars.
I hope to see you at some PCA events this year.  Enjoy the photos and the holiday season.

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Turtle Cake Brownies
Part I
1 German chocolate cake mix
12 Tablespoons  butter
1/2 cup Evaporated Milk
Mix this together.  The batter will be stiff.   Use about 1/2 of the batter and spread it on a greased 13 x 9 pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 350.  It will not be cooked completely.  Let it cool for about 5 minutes.
Part II (Have this part ready to go by the time the cake has cooled)
Melt 16 oz. Carmel bits with 1/3 cup evaporated milk using a double boiler.  Spread the melted camels over the baked bottom layer. Sprinkle pieces of Pecans, and 6 0z of chocolate chips.  Use the remaining 1/2 of the batter and place spoon sized dollops over the carmel/pecan layer. (You don’t need to spread the batter.)   Bake the bars for 20 minutes at 350.   Use a toothpick to check the top layer.
After cooling, cut into squares and enjoy with a cold glass of milk!  Santa will love these treats.