Mud Hen Bars

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Beat together your sugar and butter until creamy.

If you’re like me and keep your butter in the freezer, I soften mine in the microwave, which usually means it gets too soft, so I stick the bowl back in the fridge for a little while after I beat in the sugar to stiffen it back up.

Next , mix in 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks (save the remaining whites for your meringue). Then, dump in the dry ingredients – the flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well. Spread into a 9×13″ pan.

It appears that there is not enough batter to spread along the bottom, but keep methodically spreading it with your spatula, all will be fine. Then, sprinkle the batter layer with marshmallows, nuts, chocolate chips, and love.

Finally, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold in the brown sugar. Spread the meringue mixture over the marshmallows and chocolate chips. (This will also appear to not be enough, but it will.)

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 30 minutes or until bars are a deep golden brown and the crust is cooked through.

Two more tips:

One friend told me she baked the bars on the bottom rack for 15 minutes and then the middle rack for 15 minutes and it came out perfect. I baked the cookie layer first for 10 minutes or so, then added my chips, mallows, nuts, and meringue topping and placed in the oven for the remaining time. Perfect! Either way works!

I hope ya’ll love these bars as much as I do! It’s one of my new favorites! Feel free to post a picture on the Facebook page of your masterpiece, preferably you eating it!