Butterscotch Meringue Bar

I am still loving America's Test Kitchen Holiday Cookies edition. These meringue bars were so simple to make and I absolutely loved the butterscotch flavor melded with chocolate and blondie crust. The meringue crust held up beautifully even after two days. So give this a try and see how you like it.

The crust was soft and more like creamy peanut butter consistency.

Press down the chocolate chips into the crust batter so when meringue is spread over, the chips will behave and won't get mixed up with the meringue. My husband loves milk chocolate so next time, I will try those instead.

After whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks, slowly add brown sugar and mix until smooth in color and texture.

Oh, gosh. Look that that beautiful meringue ribbon!

Bake and cool completely before cutting. I had to freeze the bars so it will cut clean, thus this bar in photo looks very solid. But actually, the bars had a little more gooey, yummy factor. Things we food bloggers will do for good photos.

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Butterscotch Meringue Bars

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, Holiday Cookies

Makes 24 Bars

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

16 tablespoon (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups packed light brown sugar (divided)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, separated

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

1. Line 13 by 9 inch baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing excess to hang over pan edges. Spray foil with oil spray. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, set it aside.

2. With a hand mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, 1 cup of brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well blended. Add egg yolks, water, and vanilla and mix until well incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Press down chocolate chips gently into dough.

3. In a clean bowl, whip egg whites to stiff peaks, then reduce speed to medium and add remaining 1 cup of brown sugar. Mix until uniform in color and shiny. Spread meringue over chocolate chip layer and bake until golden brown, about 35-40 minutes. Cool completely before lifting out of the pan. 2-3 hours. Cut into squares.

For a large amount:

Use 12x24x2 steam pan liners, yielding 36 bars each.

Times 1 1/2 on the chocolate chips and doubled the meringue recipe.