These dream bars have made the rounds. My mother's friend Phyllis Grossman passed the recipe to my mother when I was growing up. My mother passed the recipe to me, and I have since passed it along to friends. We all make it. I have baked versions with milk chocolate and hot fudge, but the best filling by far is bittersweet chocolate. I melt the chocolate, spread it on a sheet pan and chill it, break it into shards, and press it into the dough. Then I spread a brown sugar meringue on top. I warn you—as I warn every new employee at Hot Chocolate—proceed with caution. You have to either never eat these or succumb to the fact that you will be addicted forever to Dream Bars.
Ingredients
Makes 30 bars
Step 1
反转烤盘中,用不粘锅的cooking spray. Line the top with parchment paper. With an offset spatula, spread the melted chocolate evenly across the parchment. Place the baking sheet in the freezer until firm, approximately 30 minutes.
Step 2
Lightly coat a quarter sheet (9 by 13-inch) pan or glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving 1 inch of overhang on the long sides.
Step 3
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter on medium speed for 5 to 10 seconds. Add the granulated sugar and beat the butter mixture until it is aerated, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to bring the batter together.
Step 4
Add the water and vanilla to the egg yolks. On medium speed, add the yolks, one at a time, mixing briefly until the batter resembles cottage cheese, approximately 5 seconds per yolk. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to bring the batter together. Mix on medium speed for 20 to 30 seconds to make it nearly homogeneous.
Step 5
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Step 6
Add the flour mixture all at once and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together but still looks shaggy, approximately 30 seconds. Do not overmix. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. With a plastic bench scraper, bring the dough completely together by hand.
Step 7
Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Using a rubber spatula and then your fingertips, press the dough into the corners of the pan and smooth the surface.
Step 8
Remove the chocolate from the freezer and break it up into shards. Scatter the chocolate shards across the surface of the dough and then press into the dough. Cover the top with plastic wrap, pressing down through the plastic to smooth down the top. Refrigerate until the dough is set, at least 20 minutes or overnight. (If refrigerating the dough overnight, refrigerate the egg whites as well, letting them come to room temperature before proceeding with the meringue.)
Step 9
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
第十步
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and a pinch of kosher salt on medium speed until frothy, approximately 45 seconds. Add the brown sugar and whip on medium-high speed until shiny peaks form and the meringue holds its shape, 2 to 3 minutes. Spread the meringue evenly over the chilled dough.
步骤11
Bake, rotating the pan halfway through the baking process, until the meringue resembles a lightly toasted marshmallow, 23 to 25 minutes. It will start to crack on the sides but should still be slightly soft in the center, and the shortbread should be cooked through but still pale-not golden brown. (Do not overbake or the shortbread will be too crumbly to cut.) Cool completely in the pan. Once cool, refrigerate until chilled.
Step 12
Lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment handles and transfer to a cutting board. Cut the bars lengthwise into 3 strips. Cut the bars crosswise into 10 strips to make small, rectangular bars. Serve the bars at room temperature.
The bars can be baked, cooled, then refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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Reviews (8)
Back to TopA comment that I had not made a few years back and after making this recipe many times, meringue usually does not like hot and humid weather and will not be as fluffy and crunchy as it should be in a not well air conditioned kitchen.
didicooks2
Middletown MD
5/19/2019
Actually Yanogator, it *does* say to melt the chocolate - it's just in a weird place, where the ingredients are first listed - "4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (64% to 66% cacao), melted"... I LOVED this recipe & would eat the entire 9x13 pan myself ; it's chewy, cakey, chocolatey, marshmallowy, & salty (Segal uses more salt in her baked goods than most, which I for one appreciate). Unfortunately, only 1 of my kids liked it (maybe too sophisticated? dunno), so I really *would* be eating the entire pan myself - as such, I've only made it once. But I bought her (pretty amazing) cookbook based on this recipe alone. And in answer to why we'd melt the chocolate, I think it's unclear from the recipe's intro here that Segal is a professional pastry chef w/ her own restaurant - her cookbook features many recipes she grew up with, but through the lens of a professional baker. I'm nowhere near an expert baker, but appreciate her "finer" touch w/ familiar recipes such as this one... yes, you can just throw hunks of chopped up chocolate or even chocolate chips [which is a recipe one can find many versions of online] instead of melting down chocolate, freezing it, and breaking up the shards - but then you get big awkward bits of chocolate when you bite down into the chewy-then-soft marshmallow top & dense, cakey bottom layer, rather than a thin crispy chocolate layer that is the perfect bridge between the contrasting top and bottom textures. Works either way, but for me, the extra step was worth it.
jooksing
Twin Cities
8/2/2016
@Lisajoffe I totally agree with you. I would chop the chocolate and sprinkle it over the dough (She didn't say melt it, Didicooks2), to avoid a lot of trouble. It should work just fine.
yanogator
Cincinnati, OH
10/29/2015
Really good ! Made it in 2 times, first day the shortbread chocolate part, then the next day added the meringue. I was a bit nervous about the success after a night in the refrigerator for the first part but it worked out PERFECTLY. I used 1 T of rum instead of water ... for added flavor with a heavier spoon of vanilla, YUM... and added 2 extra oz. of chocolate. Everyone loved it ! For Hicarolhi : just mix water w/vanilla, then add yolks to mix. For Lisajoffe : you do not want to pour hot chocolate over the cake batter and then cover with meringue, would be a real melting disaster !
didicooks2
Middletown, MD
9/13/2015
I haven't made these yet, but intend to next week. However, I am confused with the directions. It states to add the water and vanilla to the two egg yolks and then add them the mixture ONE AT A TIME. Once it is all mixed there is no way to separate the egg yolks into two portions.
hicarolhi
9/7/2015
Not a review, but a question . . . why bother to melt the bittersweet chocolate, spread it out, cool it 'til it firms up, and break it into shards, when you are just going to scatter it over the batter and have it melt again during the baking process? Wouldn't it just be easier to scatter the bittersweet chocolate itself? Is there some chemical (or other) process I'm not aware of that only comes through the double melting?
lisajoffe
NYC
9/4/2015
My new favorite. Great combo of cake/cookie/bar. Love how the chocolate layer is crisp and meringue chewy.
bar_chef
Philadelphia, PA
6/16/2015
I didn't make any changes to the recipe and the bars came out exactly as described - delicious! They were a hit at our dinner party. However next time I would at least double the amount of chocolate.
ChiTownMomCook
Chicago, IL
5/29/2015
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