We're going boating and camping this weekend with my brother-in-law & his wife, and I wanted to make something sweet to take along . I've been eyeing this recipe for awhile and figured this would be a good time to make it, plus I already had the ingredients on hand. These bars were fudge-freakin'-fantastic and truly lived up to its Grand Prize wining status from Cook's Country's bar cookie contest. Everyone kept calling them brownies, they were so rich & fudgy and the oatmeal provided a nice contrast & texture. Delicious!
Crust & Topping:
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. quick-cooking oats
1 c. packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted & cooled slightly
Filling:
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1 Tbs. instant coffee granules or espresso powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
4 Tbs. unsalted butter, chopped
3 large eggs
1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare 9 x 9" pan (see note below). Whisk flour, oats. sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Stir in butter until combined. Set 1 1/4 cups oatmeal mixture aside. Press remaining oatmeal mixture firmly into prepared pan. Bake until light golden brown, about 8 minutes. Cool completely.
2. For the filling: Whisk flour, sugar, instant coffee, and salt in a bowl. Melt chocolate chips and butter in large bowl; whisk in eggs, then stir in flour mixture. Pour filling over cooled crust and sprinkle with reserved oatmeal mixture.
3. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with few crumbs attached, 35-40 minutes. Cool to room temperature, at least 1 hour. Cut into 1 1/2 inch squares.
*Note* For all bar cookies, spray baking pan with cooking spray and line with aluminum foil, allowing excess to overhang pan edges. Spray foil with cooking spray. Once bar cookies have been baked and cooled, use foil overhang to lift bars from pan.
Yield: 36 bars (All bar cookies can be refrigerated for up to 3 days)
What I did differently: I only have an 8x8" pan. I used old fashioned oats, instead of the quick cooking variety. One of my Dad's student's gave him some instant coffee mix from Vietnam - Nam Nguyen Caphe Sua, which has sugar & milk in the mix. I didn't notice a difference and honestly if I didn't have that on hand, I would have omitted it from the recipe. I also didn't get 36 bars, I forgot to count but it seemed more like 20 something.
Posts
1 comment:
I love your title! I read your review yesterday and was inspired to try these! I just made these today, and as always, Cook's Country is putting out only reliable and delicious recipes! We thought that these were great. I did sort of underbake the brownie very slightly, and after they set up for 1-2 hours they were fully baked but mmmmm chewy. I won't personally make them again, but that's because I'm such an avid baker that they have to be in my top 10% to repeat. For me, I just think that the brownie covers up most of the streusel taste, and when I could taste it (it was delicious!), I still prefer it with fruit flavors or coffee cake anyways. The latter is probably just the thing for me - we all have our own favorite dessert combinations that call to use the loudest! My husband also pronounced them "great" but not a repeat. But for anyone who likes the idea of chocolate and streusel or chocolate and oatmeal flavors together, this is a really delicious recipe!!! The brownie itself is fantastic, the streusel is good, and it's a unique combination. I'm glad that I tried them, and I think that they will make my husband's co-workers very happy tonight (I made them for their party) :)
Post a Comment