the quest

Here’s the story: after Julie and Julia, I wanted to bake. Badly. Wanted is probably not the word so much as needed. So I pulled out our Julia Child cookbook…

…

The woman was amazing, but in terms of both ambition and, shall we say, “nutrition density”, her recipes are ones you want marking a special occasion and being shared with many many many people.

So instead I got thinking about another recipe, that stands out VERY sharply in my mind. My sort of friend (she’s a huge flake) has these amaaaaaaaaaazing mocha bars that she makes and she refuses to give anyone the recipe. Mean, right? I’ve been trying to hunt it down on the internet, and though I haven’t been able to find the exact thing, I found  this one, which looked promising enough to try and modify. So first I made the shortbread layer, omitting the chocolate chips (hers is just mocha/butter layer on the bottom, chocolate on top). Baked, as instructed:

Then I put the chocolate chips on top and, since they seemed a little reluctant to spread, put the whole thing back in the oven for 1 minute, after which they spread beautifully:

A note on the recipe: I like to be able to taste the coffee layer, so I used only 3/4 cup chocolate chips on top. It was still PLENTY. Oh, flowing chocolate.

I let the chocolate cool while I was grilling everything, then went upstairs to blog, then went downstairs to THIS:

Wtf! Only TWO OTHER PEOPLE live in my house! Jeez!

Then I struggled in vain to get a decent shot of my (modest!) piece:

But then, um… I ate it. And it was THE BEST THING I’VE EVER TASTED. Seriously, so much better than the original (so there, flaky friend, I don’t need you for your recipe, go ahead and blow me off). The coffee layer was rich and dense and oh-so-buttery, and the coffee flavor was perfectly balanced. The chocolate ratio was perfect, and sweet and rich and flavorful. HEAVEN!