Throwing a Party with Rocky Road Bars!

Hello! Welcome to my own little shindig here on the Internet, part of the Ultimate Blog Party hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom! I’m so glad you stopped by.

I'm Phyllis, also known as the Ima on and off the Bima, and I'll be your hostess.

Ima means Mom in Hebrew.
Bima is the raised platform in a synagogue from which the Torah is read or the service is led.
I am a Rabbi, so I am often on the Bima. But I'm always an Ima, whether I'm on or off.

I have three yeladim (children) - David, Sam, and Yael.
And I blog about Jewish parenting and living. And sometimes just other random things...whatever life throws my way - recipes, tips, pictures, commentary on the world...

Some of my favorite posts:
The Ten Commandments in Haiku
Pictures of a Recent Trip to Israel (I've travelled 3 times to Israel in the last 2 years, and I've blogged about my trips) and some more pictures here.
Award-Winning Passover Poem
Consumer Culture and Torah
Why Spin Instructors are Like Rabbis
Homemade Leg Warmers
Maintaining Family History
I Love to Read and Books I Read in 2008

Please feel free to subscribe to my RSS feed and also follow me on Twitter!




Right now, I, along with the whole Jewish world, am in the midst of getting ready for the holiday of Passover (in Hebrew, Pesach). This involves a lot of cleaning and in my case, a lot of baking and cooking. Why, you might ask? Well, we have to rid our houses of all the leavened items that are forbidden on this holiday. What better way to get rid of all the flour and other baking supplies than to bake them into delicious foodstuffs!? And I do love to bake. So in the spirit of using up flour, I made two different kinds of bars yesterday for our school's Teacher Appreciation Dinner. If you don't have the King Arthur Cookie Companion, I highly recommend it! I made Scandinavian Blondies (yum) and Rocky Road Bars, which were absolutely fantastic.

So today, I made another batch of those Rocky Road Bars.
(Passover is such a good time because you can get all sorts of things in the store like kosher marshmallows)


Absolutely Unbelievably Good Rocky Road Bars
(adapted from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)

1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (I left these out)
1 to 2 cups miniature marshmallows (depending on how much you like)

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan.
Cream butter and both sugars until combined, add salt and baking powder. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in the cocoa powder, then the flour. Stir in 2 cups of chocolate chips and the walnuts if you're using them.
Pat the dough into your prepared pan.
Bake at 350F for 15 minutes until the edges are set but still soft in the center. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chocolate chips and then marshmallows. Bake about 7 minutes more, til melty and the marshmallows are toasted on top.
Cool completely (overnight worked great) and then cut. It makes 24-36 bars. They are super-rich!


and what's a party without music?



Glad you stopped by! Make sure to check out all the other party folks linked up over at 5 Minutes for Mom. There are prizes too!
My top 3 prizes that I'd like to win are:
19 — $50 gift certificate to Target Stores
Provided by: Shoot-Me-Now
Prize details: Treat your kids, or even better, treat yourself! Shoot-Me-Now would like to donate a $50 Target gift card to one winner.

49 – Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD and The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook: Budget Friendly Meals Your Whole Family Will Love
Provided by: Pudget: Losing Weight On A Budget
Prize details: These two great tools will help you during any phase of your weight loss journey.

99 — $25 gift certificate for Shutterfly
Provided by: SandwichINK.com
Prize details: $25 gift certificate for Shutterfly for photos of all those cute kids, grandkids, pets, etc.

(or, if any of those are taken, I like 21, 22, 30, 58, 91, 97, 106, USC25)