Oatmeal Fudge Bars

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

1. For crust and streusel, line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing excess foil to hang over pan edges. Combine oats, 1 cup of brown sugar, 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in bowl. Stir in melted butter until combined. Reserve 3/4 cup of this mixture for topping. Add 1/2 cup of chopped nuts into the topping portion. Set aside.

2. Sprinkle remaining crust mixture into prepared pan and press into even layer. Bake until light golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Keep oven on.

3. For fudge filling, combine in a small bowl, 1/4 cup of flour, brown sugar, instant espresso and salt. In a double boiler, melt chocolate chips and 2 tablespoon of butter and cool slightly. Chocolate mixture will be thick. Add egg and whisk until combined. Stir in flour-espresso mixture until just incorporated. Do not over mix.

4. Pour thick filling over cooled crust and spread with a knife. It will be like thick icing. Sprinkle with the reserved topping streusel.

5. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with few crumbs attached, 25-30 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack, about two hours. Using the foil overhang, lift bars from pan and cut into squares. Yields 16 bars.

Make-Ahead Tips: If you can’t bake ahead of time and then freeze your desserts, you can also measure/weigh all the dry ingredients, store in storage bags, along with the recipe until ready to bake. This saves you time from converting and measuring recipes.

*Up to two weeks ahead: Make crust, bake, cool. Tightly wrap in plastic wrap, then foil the whole pan. Put reserved topping in a freezer bag. Freeze both. Thaw before baking with chocolate filling.
*Measure butter and egg for the filling. Label, date, and store in refrigerator until needed.
*Measure/weigh chocolate chips, store in plastic bag.
*Combine instant coffee, flour, sugar, and salt in one plastic bag until ready to bake.