Recipe: Fudge Dream Bars

This was something that I made my mom for Mother’s Day. I chose to do an easy dessert partnered with the Iced Oranges, so I decided to make brownies!

I was a little skeptical when I first started to make these. I thought they were going to turn out really cake-y and dry, but trust me, I was in for a shock. The finished product was extremely fudge-y. In fact, at first I wasn’t completely sure that they were done.

Aside from their extreme fudginess, I have to say that they were also really, really sweet, which means that I wasn’t as crazy about them as I thought I would be. I love fudge-like brownies, but the sugar content in these was astronomical, even for me. I definitely think that was the biggest down side to these, and in fact we didn’t finish all of them because of that. My guess is that the icing may have put these over the top.

They were pretty easy to make. They were pretty much like your standard brownie except you didn’t use unsweetened baking bars, but rather unsweetened cocoa.

That being said, don’t take my word for it. Try them yourself! Below is the recipe.

“Fudge Dream Bars” (from Chocolate Treats)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 eggs

2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

For bars, preheat oven to 350. Grease 13x9 inch pan. In medium saucepan, blend 1 cup butter and 1/3 cup cocoa. Cook over low heat, stirring until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

In large bowl, beat eggs with mixer on medium speed until blended. Add granulated sugar, flour and cocoa mixture; beat until well blended. Beat in vanilla and salt.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool completely.

¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 cups powdered sugar, divided

2 to 4 tablespoons milk

For frosting, in medium saucepan, combine ¼ cup butter and 1/3 cup cocoa. Cook over low heat, stirring until melted and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl.

With mixer on medium-low speed, gradually beat in 2 cups powdered sugar until blended. Beat in 2 tablespoons milk. Gradually beat in remaining 2 cups powdered sugar and enough remaining milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until frosting is smooth and spreadable.

Spread frosting over bars in pan. Cut into 32 bars.

Rating: C