Last week we were so honored to host Larry's nephew, Davey, along with his wife, Julie, and daughters Lexi and Kylee. The evening they arrived, we smoked a brisket for dinner, but I had not given much forethought to dessert. Cookie bars seemed like the right, last minute sweet treat. Scanning through recipes, I happened on smitten kitchen's "not derby pie bars". Only a fool tries a new recipe when entertaining. Or as Julie said, "it was a ballsy move." Obviously these bars were dynamite, or you wouldn't be reading about them here.
Derby Pie is a rich pie made with chocolate chips, nuts and bourbon, a nod to the Kentucky Derby beverage of choice. This is a derby pie in bar form, with plenty of salt to help cut through the sweetness. The shortbread cookie crust is the perfect complement to the slightly gooey dough, studded with chocolate and nuts and perfumed with bourbon and vanilla. It is not a dessert for the faint of heart; perhaps they should have a piece of fruit. Credit goes to smitten kitchen, whose recipe for not derby pie bars was very near perfection.
Derby Pie Bars
Crust:
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. fine salt
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. cold, unsalted, butter
Filling:
3/4 c. (12 Tbsp) unsalted butter
2/3 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
2 Tbsp. bourbon (you can leave this out if you want)
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 c. toasted, coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
Prepare a 9 x 13 inch baking pan: cut two lengths of parchment paper long enough to line the pan from both width and length wise and leaving a bit of overhang to use later as "handles" to remove the bars from the pan. Spray the pan with cooking spray before you line it with the paper.
Use a food processor to prepare the crust. Pulse together the flour, salt, and sugar. Cut the 2 sticks of butter into chunks and add them to the bowl. Process the dough until a ball forms; this might take up to 30 seconds. Dump the dough out into the prepared pan. Using your hands, gently and evenly press the crust over the bottom of the pan and 1/4 inch up the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the crust is just starting to brown. Remove from the oven.
While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, allowing it to bubble a bit after melting, but watch closely so that it does not burn. Cool the butter (pop in the frig for ten minutes if you are impatient). In a large bowl, whisk together the cooled butter and sugars. Add the eggs, salt, bourbon, and vanilla, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the flour, and then mix in the chocolate chips and nuts. Pour over the crust, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with a few grains of sea salt or fleur de sol. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes until the top is firm and golden. Allow the bars to cool and then carefully lift them out of the pan, using the parchment paper handles. Cut into 24 bars.
