Oatmeal Fudge Bars

I have a confession to make: I am a savory-kind of a girl; not much of a dessert eater. I blame it on my Korean heritage where fruit is usually served after a meal.

Here's another confession: I baked my first cake when I was 25 years old. So when I bake desserts for my church family, they're almost like my taste test crew. If they like it, then it's worthy to be served another time!

I tried the Oatmeal-Fudge Bars on the Wednesday Noon Service crowd. And they L-O-V-E-D it.

Melted butter is tossed in dry ingredients.

For the fudge filling, chocolate and butter is melted in a double boiler. Add egg(s).

To intensify the chocolate flavor, espresso powder, along with sugar and flour, is added.

Chocolate mixture is rather thick and grainy when spreading.

Top it with the streusel. I added chopped pecans for added crunch and flavor.

Then I took a bite. For the sake of the photo. And I must say, the chocolate filling was moist and wonderfully chocolatey. The crust and topping had the perfect amount of crunch and texture.

I loved that one bite.

Then my youngest son ate the rest of it.

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Oatmeal-Fudge Bars

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen

Holiday Cookies Edition, with revision

Crust and Streusel:

1 cup (3 oz) of quick-cooking oats, do not use old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup (7 oz) packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup (3.75 oz) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoon (4 oz) melted unsalted butter, cooled

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Fudge Filling:

2 tablespoons (1 oz) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups (9 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 large egg

2 teaspoons instant espresso or instant coffee

1/4 cup (1.25 oz) all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (1.75 oz) brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

1. For crust and streusel, line 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing excess to hang over pan edges. Combine oats, 1 cup of brown sugar, 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in bowl. Stir in melted butter until combined. Reserve 3/4 cup mixture for topping. Add 1/2 cup of chopped nuts in the topping. Set aside.

2. Sprinkle remaining mixture into prepared pan and press into even layer. Bake until light golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Keep oven on.

3. For fudge filling, combine in a small bowl, 1/4 cup of flour, brown sugar, instant espresso and salt. In a double boiler, melt chocolate chips and 2 tablespoon of butter and cool slightly. Chocolate mixture will be thick. Add egg and whisk until combined. Stir in flour-espresso mixture until just incorporated. Do not over mix.

4. Pour thick filling over cooled crust and spread with a knife. It will be like thick icing. Sprinkle with reserved topping streusel.

5. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with few crumbs attached, 25-30 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack, about two hours. Using foil overhang, lift bars from pan and cut into squares. Yields 16 bars.

Make-Ahead Tips: If you can't bake and freeze desserts ahead, measure/weigh all the ingredients, store in storage bags, along with the recipe until ready to bake. This saves you time from converting and measuring recipes.

*Up to two+ weeks ahead: Make crust, bake, cool. Tightly wrap in plastic wrap, then foil the whole pan. Put reserved topping in freezer bag. Freeze. Thaw before baking with chocolate filling

*Measure butter & egg. Label, date, and store in refrigerator until needed.

*Measure/weigh chocolate chips, store in plastic bag.

*Combine instant coffee, flour, sugar, and salt in one plastic bag until ready to bake.

When making in large scale, weighing your baking ingredients is critical.

To yield 80 bars (cutting 5x8 on each pan) or 90 bars (cutting 5x9) : use two 12x2x2.5 steam pans,

recipe X 5 for crust and streusel and X10 for the chocolate fudge filling