North Pole Mud Bars- a recipe

On Sunday night we had a little neighborhood holiday gathering. I did a quick scan of my fridge, I had one egg- not a good sign for baking. I then remembered that I had purchased chocolate to make the peppermint bark.



However, as I read the recipe it became clear that I hadn't purchased enough white chocolate to make them. Looking on the inside of the bar's wrapper I saw a few other options (I love when they do that, don't you? One caught my eye, Mississippi Mud Bars. I only need one egg and it looked like I had everything else for it as well.



Reading a bit further, I realized it called for walnuts. I don't like to put nuts in my baked goods especially when I am bringing them to a gathering- too much worry about allergies. The other thing was, I had already chopped up the candy canes to make the bark and with no walnuts in the house I adjusted the recipe.
I thought you might like theseas much as we did, so I am passing on my spin. These would perfect for the holiday or maybe a little treat to help Santa on his way in a couple of nights??

Vanessa's North Pole Mud Bars
(adapted from a Ghiradelli Mississippi Mud Bar recipe)



Ingredients-

• 1/2 cup (one stick) butter or margarine, softened


• 3/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed


• 1 tsp. vanilla extract


• 1 cup all-purpose flour


• 1/2 tsp baking soda


• 1/4 tsp. salt


• 1 bar(4 ox) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bar, chopped and divided in half (I used 1/2 cup chocolate chips here and it worked like magic)


• 1 bar (4 oz) White Chocolate Baking bar, chopped and divided in half


• 1/2 cup crushed candy cane or peppermint candies (I used the food processor but you could also use a zip top bag and a can of food to smash them)

Instructions-

• Preheat oven to 350F


• In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy


• Mix in flour, baking soda and slat


• Stir in half the chocolate (white and semi-sweet) and half the crushed peppermint candy


• Spread in greased foil lined 9" square baking pan.


• Bake 12-15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean.


• Sprinkle with remaining chocolate


• Cover with foil. Let stand 5 minutes or until chocolates are melted.


• Swirl chocolate with a small knife to marbleized


• Sprinkle with remaining crushed peppermint candies


• Cool in pan until firm, then cut into bars.

Enjoy!