Malted Milk Chocolate Bars

Whoppers, anyone?

Malted milk and chocolate is a classic combo. I didn’t grow up on malted milk shakes (or anything malted for that matter, other than the odd box of Whoppers that snuck its way in between the real chocolates like Junior Mints, Caramilk and Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups), but I did grow up on chocolate. So I know a thing or two about cocoa-covered confectionary and things covered in white chocolate and then cut into bars.

The deal with these bars is that they contain malted milk powder- something you can find at specialty stores or online at King Arthur Flour- AND Whoppers, so you have the malt thing coming at you from both directions. Even if you didn’t grow up with malted milk, you might start seeking it out after downing a row of these bars all to yourself before sharing them with others. Just a friendly warning.

Adapted from King Arthur Flour’s recipe…

3/4 cup malted milk powder

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup Whoppers (chocolate malted milk candy balls), coarsely chopped

WHITE CHOCOLATE FROSTING (Optional):

1 cup white chocolate (or 5 oz. if chopped from a block)

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons butter (at room temperature)

1 tablespoon semi-sweet chocolate shavings (optional, for garnish)
1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9″ foil-lined square pan.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together malted milk powder, sugar, flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a separate small bowl or measuring cup with a spout, beat together eggs, vanilla and oil.
4. Mix wet ingredients into dry mixture thoroughly, beating just until no lumps remain. Stir in chocolate chips and Whoppers.
5. Spread the batter into prepared pan and bake bars for 28 – 30 minutes. Be careful not to over bake! Remove brownies from oven, and allow to cool completely before frosting (optional).
6. FROSTING (optional): Melt the white chocolate in microwave for 1 minute, stirring halfway to prevent scorching. Stir until smooth, and let cool to room temperature. In a medium bowl, stir confectioners’ sugar with the milk and vanilla. Add butter and beat until smooth. Stir in the cooled white chocolate, then frost the bars. (Add more icing sugar if you want a stiffer frosting, or stick in fridge for a bit to chill and stiffen for easier spreading.)
7. Sprinkle chocolate shavings over top of bars (optional), and allow bars to cool for at least an hour before slicing.
Tips:
- The risk of over baking is always there, especially when you’re a distracted baker like I am. I always set the timer for a few minutes less than the recommended baking time, so I can check on the baking creation and make sure I’m not baking the crap out of it. Bars are best when they are a bit under baked, so if you use a cake tester in the center to check their done-ness, expect it to still be moist in the middle.
- Frosting thoughts: I’m going to be honest here. I only used white chocolate frosting because I happened to have it in the freezer when I made this recipe (probably from the White Chocolate Cashew Blondies), and I was too lazy to make a new batch of say, Chocolate Icing (like the one from the Chocolate Mocha Cake, which would have worked really well here). I toyed with the idea of making a malted milk frosting and then thought it might have been Whopperish overkill. Anyhoo, make your favorite frosting and spread away. Or melt chocolate chips overtop for a simple, thin layer of chocolatey goodness- take the bars out of the oven 2 minutes early, sprinkle 3/4 cup of good chocolate chips overtop and then bake for 2 minutes. Remove from oven and spread the melted chips evenly across the surface of the bars. Lovely.
- No Whoppers? No matter. Replace with a few more chocolate chips and how about some lightly toasted pecans or walnuts instead?
- Freeze-friendly? Yes, these are for sure, even with the frosting. Just store in an airtight container that won’t press down on the frosting. Obviously.
Click Here to PRINT This Recipe Now!
Related Recipes & Posts:
December 12th, 2012 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: Brownies & Bars, Chocolate