Good morning! How's your Monday so far? Mine has been hectic. Thanks in part to a forgotten show-and-tell day at my sons school - which resulted in a mad dash back to the house to stash a bag full of toys for him to pick from. Because you know if I had brought just one, inevitably that one would have been the WRONG one.

Yes, my six year old is becoming a big boy. Gone are the days when everything Mommy did was perfect.

Sniff.

Anyway, crisis averted and I made another mad dash back to the house to get this post up. What's the rush you ask? Well, because this post is part of a recipe contest! If you have a soft spot in your heart for dear 'ol Amber, I'd reeeeeally love for you to vote for me.

Hypothetically, I'd come to your house and do all your laundry forever and ever. Hypothetically, of course. That counts...right?

Recently, I was asked to be a part of a Sweetest 16 Baking Recipe Contest, featuring 16 food bloggers. Since I'm a baker at heart and I love experimenting in the kitchen, how could I say no?

THE MISSION: Choose at least one ingredient from a box of goodies I was sent, create a delicious recipe with it. Go head to head against the other great bloggers in a March Madness style sweet 16 contest.

THE RESULT: One of the products I received was a Raspberry Cake and Pastry filling, so I decided to work with that. After rummaging through my cabinets to see what I had, I zeroed in on a fat bag of heaven's nectar - a.k.a white chocolate chips. What goes better with raspberry than white chocolate? So I threw them together and made a pan full of delicious babies that I like to call White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Bars.

They are gooood!

Each blogger will advance by popular vote in a March Madness-style tournament, and voting begins today!! The first round ends at 9:00pm on 12/12, so if you fee like it, pretty please, head on over and vote for my White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Bars!

White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Bars

Yield: 12-16 bars   Printable Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup non-fat dry milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup Solo Raspberry Cake and Pastry Filling


Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and dry milk. Stir in the eggs and oil.. Press two-thirds of the mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Set remaining cake mixture aside.

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the condensed milk, white chocolate chips and butter. Heat uncovered until chips and butter are melted. Stir until smooth. Pour over the crust.

Drop tablespoons of raspberry filling evenly over the white chocolate layer. Using a knife, drag the knife through the raspberry dollops, creating a swirl effect.

Drop teaspoonfuls of remaining cake mixture over the raspberry layer. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool before cutting.

Optional: Garnish bars with drizzled melted white chocolate.