Chocolatey Raspberry Crumb Bars

"If moderation is a fault, then indifference is a crime." - Jack Kerouac

For the past month, the whole world has been anxiously watching the FIFA World Cup, and every match has had its crowning moments. My family is a huge futbol/soccer fan, and we can honestly say, we have not missed a game of the World Cup since 1994. We all keep count of each team's points during the first, then from there stay glued to the TV and radio for the rounds after. The 2010 Cup has been a different one, in many senses. For one, many of the greats such as France, Italy, and Brazil did not make it to the semi-final nor the final. Also, this year's Cup has had the pleasure of having its own Miss Cleo: Paul the Octopus. Paul the Octopus has been predicting the last few matches of this cup, and hasn't given a wrong prediction. Scary!! It predicted Germany winning against Uruguay, which happened, thankfully. Sorry Uruguay fans! Germany deserved that win, even though it looked as if they threw Wednesday's game against Spain. For tomorrow, wait, I mean, today's game, Paul predicted Spain as EL CAMPEON DE LA COPA = THE CHAMPION OF THE CUP. Even though my ancestors are from Spain, I'm also a die-hard Electronica fan, so I need to support Tiesto on this one, so... GO NETHERLANDS! I mean, Spain's a good team and all, but I think that the Netherlands team deserves it. They've been a really good team for I don't know how many years, so they deserve the win.

Please don't eat me alive on these opinions. Please? :) But if you do decide to eat something during this final match of the World Cup, why not try these bars out for size? They combine chocolate and raspberry, which is a tried and true combination of yummyness. Bake them, share them, enjoy the game. May your favorite team win!

Chocolatey Raspberry Crumb Bars
adapted from: Nestlé Best-Loved Recipes

makes 3 dozen bars

Ingredients:
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
12 oz Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, divided
14 oz Nestlé La Lechera Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup red raspberry preserves

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 13x9-inch baking pan.
2) Beat butters in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in flour, sugar, and salt until crumbly. With floured fingers, press 1 3/4 cups crumb mixture onto bottom of prepared baking pan; reserve remaining mixture.
3) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
4) Microwave 1 cup morsels and condensed milk in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH power for 1 minute. Stir. Morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Spread over hot crust.
5) Stir nuts into reserved crumb mixture; sprinkle over chocolate layer. Drop teaspoonfuls of raspberry preserves over crumb mixture. Sprinkle with remaining morsels.
6) Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.