Tailgate Treat: Butterscotch Bars

I've been going to K-State football games since I was in elementary school. I've known the words to the K-State alma mater since I was about 10. I could probably say the words to the pre-game Ceremony of Allegiance right along with the stadium announcer.

While "Eat 'em up! Eat 'em up! K-S-U!" has been part of my game day experience for decades, eating at tailgates has not.

We didn't have to arrive early at the stadium when I was a college student in the 1970s. There were plenty of seats. We hiked from the Derby dorm complex and could spread out once we got through the gates. We certainly weren't elbow to elbow, packed into the stands. As the daughter of a true sports fanatic, I grew up staying to the end of ballgames, no matter what. Things like that tend to stick, and I always stayed to the bitter end. And it usually was bitter: Back in the '70s, it was a rarity to win a football game.

Tailgating definitely wasn't a "thing" back in the '70s. My, how times have changed! Now the parking lots at Bill Snyder Family Stadium are filled with tailgaters galore.

When did tailgating begin? I turned to the American Tailgaters Association for the answer:

One of the first tailgating events was first documented during the Civil War, although participants, in all likelihood, were not sharing recipes or playing a friendly game of horseshoes. The event took place in 1861 at the Battle of Bull Run. At the battle’s start, civilians from the Union side arrived with baskets of food and shouting, “Go Big Blue!” their efforts were a form of support and were to help encourage their side to win the commencing battle.

Although this event was a far cry from tailgates today, this is one of the first historical events of passersby cheering on an event. This day also is important in that it documents food being used to celebrate a specific event. Many historians believe that, despite the civilians’ enthusiasm, even for the time, cheering on a war wasn’t exactly considered kosher … or safe. But, despite the dangers that these “fans” may have endured, the rituals they displayed have a direct correlation to the tailgating that is practiced today.

My Wildcats will be doing battle tonight against the Auburn's War Eagle cry, but there shouldn't be any muskets involved. There will be, however, tailgating food. Among them, these Butterscotch Bars. They aren't purple, so I dressed them up with purple muffin cups.

Besides being a nationally-televised game, it's Harley Day. Let the excitement begin! Go 'Cats! Beat Auburn!

Harley Day - 2011 - I'm a spectator ... not a participant!

Butterscotch Bars

(with chocolate chips and marshmallows)

Adapted from A Farm Girl's Dabbles blog

1 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1 12-oz. pkg. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of a 9- by 13-inch pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine butterscotch chips and butter in a glass measuring cup. Microwave for 1 minute on 70 percent power; stir. If not melted, continue cooking on 70 percent power in 30-second intervals until smooth, taking care not to burn. Put melted butterscotch in mixing bowl. Add brown sugar and vanilla, mixing well. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine dry ingredients. Add to creamed mixture. Stir in marshmallows and chocolate chips.

Spread into prepared pan using a flat metal spatula. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, taking care not to overbake. The edges should be browned nicely, and the center not quite set. They firm upon cooling.

For more tailgating recipes, check out this link from the K-State Alumni Association.

For more tailgating snacks from Kim's County Line, click on this link for more K-State themed ideas and here for our experience at a University of South Carolina game.