Topic: Totally Betty
I'm currently enjoying a stripe of chess squares which I baked a pan of last night. These things are very bad for you, like most recipes I hand out. It just irks the hell out of me when people do a recipe and leave it all vague. It would be nice if they would warn you of complex or difficult stages, but I can live without that. What I can't live without are measurements. Here, check it out yourself:
Chess Squares
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
1 stick butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients and mix well using a wooden spoon. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 x 2 pan. Spread mixture evenly in pan then set aside.
Okay, first off it would have been nice if they'd specified to mix the wet ingredients together first then add the dry. I already knew this because I bake often enough, but someone new to the process would have a hell of a time mixing this stuff together, which has the consistency of cookie dough. Also, you have no idea how hard it is to spread this stuff evenly in a greased and floured pan. Anyway...
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 box powdered sugar
One box? What the hell kind of measurement is that? When we bought the ingredients they had several different brands and some variation in their weights. I picked the 16 oz box, and I think it's too much.
Mix the cream cheese and eggs until smooth, then add sugar. Pour this over the first mixture. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.
I think telling you to preheat the oven a bit earlier would be nice for the newbie, as well as a hint that you shouldn't just dump all the powdered sugar in at once since that's just going to make a mess.
So now I'm eating the final product. When I tried these baked by someone else they were quite good. These aren't bad, but they're insanely sweet - so sweet in fact that I can't handle this thin stripe without a glass of milk. And I'm a serious sugar junkie. If you make these yourself I suggest a little less sugar, like maybe a 12 oz box (assuming that size exists).
Enjoy!
