Heavenly Chocolate Bars

I have a bad habit of trying out new recipes when I'm serving them to a group. Since I don't always like all the recipes I try, you would think I would wait to experiment when there wouldn't be so many people eating them, but for some reason, I keep doing it anyway.

Yesterday, we went to a BBQ, and I had signed up to bring a dessert. True to form, I decided I wanted to try something new. Thankfully, this was one of the times when it worked out ok. Several people said they liked them, and I had a request for the recipe, so I decided it could be considered a success. Which means I'll probably do it again, and wind up serving something terrible to a group some time. If so, I'll just pretend not to know who brought whatever disastrous dish it is...

In the meantime, here is the recipe from last night, which is worth adding to my collection. It is from the book Chocolate Never Faileth. It doesn't take much hands-on time; just be aware you do need time for them to cool completely before drizzling the chocolate on top.

They're different from other bars I've had. They're kind of brownie-like, but with a somewhat gooey layer as well. Hmmm...I'm realizing I don't really know how to describe them, so you'll just have to try them for yourself:

Heavenly Chocolate Bars

Crust:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 stick butter
1 c. flour
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

Topping:
2 eggs
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. peanut butter chips (I didn't have PB chips but had butterscotch, and that was good, although I bet the PB would be great also. I'm sure you can use any combination of chips you would like)

Drizzle:
1 c. chocolate pieces, melted (chocolate chips work fine)

Preheat oven to 350. For the crust, cream brown sugar and butter. Add the flour and cocoa; mix well. (This is pretty thick, so it was much easier to use my KitchenAid mixer than it would have been to mix it by hand.) Press by hand into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish until mixture is spread evenly and covers the bottom of the dish. Bake for 10 minutes.

While the crust bakes, in a medium bowl, create the topping: Mix the eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla with a spoon. Stir in the baking powder and salt; mix well. Stir in both kinds of chips. Pour over baked crust and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. (15 minutes was plenty in my oven.) Cool completely.

To make the drizzle: In a microwave-safe glass bowl, melt the chocolate pieces. Microwave for one minute, stir, then heat at 30-second intervals until smooth. Stir the melted chocolate with a wooden spoon for a couple of minutes before using it to allow it to temper and prevent it from blooming when it cools. Pour melted chocolate into a ziploc bag, cut off a corner, and drizzle the entire cup of melted chocolate over the top of the bars in a checkerboard pattern, a zigzag pattern, or whatever design you like. Allow the drizzle to harden before cutting the bars and serving.