Mud Hen Bars

Well, I ain’t never heard of such a thing… that’s what I mumbled to myself last week when I spied these on Pinterest. I’d never seen such a thing either, which is what made me investigate. A bright, chewy-looking bottom smothered with an ooey gooey chocolaty layer covered with a caramel colored crackled top… just stop it.

I might not have known what I was looking at but I knew I wanted some! A quick internet search produced dozens of recipes and they all appeared to have Southern roots.

I was already intrigued but then to find out these seem to be of Southern descent and I’d never heard tale of them? What the crap?

So, I did what I always do when I’m looking for a Southern recipe I don’t have, I checked around on some of my friends’ blogs and lo and behold, my sweet friend, Christy from Christy Jordan's Southern Plate had a recipe (buy the cookbook with the original recipe here). And since her recipe seemed to be what everyone else’s recipe was based on, I started with hers as a jumping off point (and p.s... I didn't jump far).

And if you’re not a marshmallow person, don’t let them throw you off. I’m not a huge marshmallow person myself but that’s one of the cool things about this recipe… they mostly melt away. And that brown sugar meringue-ish topping takes the shape of them before they melt which is what gives you all the cool bumps. Seriously, this is one of the most interesting recipes I've ever made. It’s like a science experiment. With chocolate. That you can eat.

So, here’s the first batch of Mud Hen Bars I ever made. And there’s no doubt, there will be many, many more to come.

Mud Hen Bars
recipe adapted from Christy Jordan’s Original Mud Hens at The Southern Plate
Bottom layer:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks (reserve whites for top layer)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Middle layer:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini-marshmallows
1 cup chopped nuts (here's the nut grinder I use)

Top layer:
2 egg whites
1 cup brown sugar

Make the bottom layer:
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and stir or sift to combine. Set aside.

With an electric mixer set at medium speed, beat butter and sugar until creamy (about 2 minutes). Add whole egg, egg yolks and vanilla and continue mixing until smooth (about 1 minute). Slowly add flour mixture and mix until all ingredients are just combined.

Spray a 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray (or grease with butter or shortening). Add dough to pan and spread evenly until bottom of pan is covered. I covered mine with wax paper and then used my hands to shmoosh and spread the batter – I’ve found that this is the easiest, cleanest way to handle dough like this on layered desserts and bars.

Assemble the middle layer:
Top bottom layer evenly with chocolate chips, marshmallows and nuts.

Make the top layer:
In a cold, clean mixing bowl beat egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold in brown sugar and stir until smooth and there are no lumps.

Spread egg white mixture evenly over second layer.

Cook and serve:
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until top layer is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for twenty minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container.

p.s.... I let Husband talk me into using roasted peanuts but I don't know that I'd recommend them. I've never thought peanuts finished well in baked recipes - they lose too much of their crunch.

p.p.s.... Husband doesn't like pecans. {sigh}

PRINTABLE RECIPE