Eat Some Mud!

I like to make my cakes, cookies, and candies look beautiful. Appearance is half the taste, right? Well, that’s just not true with this next recipe! Mississippi Mud Bars are the ugliest looking dessert around. They are actually supposed to look like a wonky, dirty hunk of mud! Except that the "mud" is actually an ooey-gooey decadent dessert.

If you want to cut up the mud bars and serve them to others, wait until the entire pan is completely cool. However, if you’re like me, the sight of these mud bars will make you grab a fork and dig in before the steam even settles. Don’t even try to count calories on this one!

Mississippi Mud Bars
Adapted from two recipes by Paula Deen

1 C. butter
1 C. milk
½ C. cocoa powder
½ C. water
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 C. sugar
2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3 C. mini marshmallows
1 ½ C. white chocolate chips
¾ C. chocolate chips
**Chocolate Glaze (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 15x11-inch jelly roll pan and line with parchment paper. Butter and flour the parchment paper.

2. In a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat.

3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, and baking soda. Set aside.

4. Whisk the milk, cocoa, and water into the melted butter. Then whisk in eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking often. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

5. Pour chocolate mixture over dry mixture and whisk to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure there are no flour clumps. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

6. While cake is baking (with 10 minutes left), prepare the Chocolate Glaze.

7. After cake is done, immediately sprinkle marshmallows, white chips, and chocolate chips evenly on top of the hot cake. Pour warm **Chocolate Glaze in a zig-zag pattern over the cake. Let cool in pan completely before cutting into bars. (Or dig in with a fork right away.)

**Chocolate Glaze
½ C. butter
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
6 Tbsp. buttermilk (or milk with added lemon juice left at room temp for 10-20 min)
4 C. powdered sugar

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add cocoa and buttermilk, whisking until cocoa has completely dissolved. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth, about one cup at a time.