Chocolate Malt Bars

Forrest has recently discovered the joy of Whoppers. He kept telling me that he loved “the yummy circle ball candies” that he would eat at Daddy’s office (Jeff keeps a stash of candy at the reception desk for young patients), and I didn’t know what exactly he was referring to. But I often have no idea what he’s talking about, so I didn’t give it any thought.

We were wandering through the candy aisle the other day, and he spotted a big box of Whoppers and excitedly told me, “Those are the ball candies I love from Daddy’s office!” And I happened to remember a recipe from our family cookbook that I’ve wanted to try . . . so into the cart the gigantic box of Whoppers went.

These bars may be the first frosted dessert Forrest has ever eaten without asking me to scrape the frosting off of first. Who’d have guessed it—if you cover frosting with Whoppers, he has no complaints.

This recipe comes from my aunt Miriam, and is part of our family cookbook. We loved the bars—the chopped Whoppers mixed into the batter melt and get all chewy and gooey and amazing. The bars themselves aren’t incredibly sweet, but topped with rich fudgy frosting and more chopped Whoppers, they are just dessert perfection. Recommended for any Whoppers fan (and there are quite a few of those in this house).

No laughing at my gunked-up pan. Those Pinterest claims about baking soda and hydrogen peroxide taking off grease stains? LIES!

Chocolate Malt Bars
adapted from my aunt Miriam’s recipe

1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup instant malted milk powder (chocolate or vanilla)
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups malted milk balls, coarsely chopped, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9x9” square pan.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then mix in egg, malted milk powder, milk and vanilla. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes until smooth and light, then add flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir to combine. Gently fold in 1 cup chopped malted milk balls. Spread batter in prepared pan and bake 18-22 minutes until center is set.

Let the bars cool, then top with frosting.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons milk

Beat butter until light and smooth, then add cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and vanilla, and mix thoroughly. Add milk a little at a time, as needed, to reach a smooth, spreadable consistency.

Spread frosting over cooled bars, then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup malted milk balls.