Oatmeal & Coffee Stout Fudge Bar

by Annemarie Maitri

Fall 2016 Issue

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 20-23 minutes

Serves: 15

The beer in this recipe adds just the right amount of bitterness so the dessert isn’t too sweet. Oh, and it’s topped with crispy bacon (because you can’t have a tailgate without bacon).

Ingredients

Fudge Bar
1 cup chopped 55-70% cacao chocolate

6 oz. unsalted butter

1/4 cup sifted cocoa

4 eggs, room temperature

1 3/4 cups brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups sifted flour

2/3 tsp. salt

1/3 cup coffee stout beer

Oatmeal Filling
3/4 cup oats

1 cup unsweetened coconut

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

3 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature

3 Tbsp. coffee stout beer

Beer Glaze
Coffee stout beer

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

Garnish (optional)
3 slices of bacon, cooked crispy, cooled and crumbled

Directions

For the batter: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or in a medium metal bowl placed over a small pot of simmering water), stirring frequently. Once melted and slightly cooled, sift in cocoa. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix on medium until combined, about 2 minutes. Fold in sifted flour and salt. Fold in chocolate mixture. Add beer and mix on medium another 2 to 3 minutes.

For the filling: In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. Massage in butter and beer until mixture is wet and sticking together.

To bake: Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Spread half the batter across the bottom. Sprinkle filling across the batter. Top with remaining batter. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out slightly clean.

For the beer glaze: While stirring, slowly add beer to powdered sugar until it creates a thick glaze. Pour or drizzle in a cross-hatch pattern across top of cooled bars.

To serve: Cut into 2- to 3-inch squares and garnish with crumbled bacon, if desired. Enjoy!

How was it?