Biscoff-Brown Sugar Bars

Precious angel sent straight from heaven.

Now if this is not a precious angel sent straight from heaven, I don't know what is, people.  He likes to play sword fight and climb on fences and moo at cows and spray people with water hoses.  He's all boy, all the time, so Lolli likes to chill him out with a little bit of baking in the kitchen every now and then.  And that was our plan for yesterday until he passed out cold on the couch watching Barney the dinosaur.

Naps happen sometimes.

So I had an overcast day, a kitchen all to myself, and a little one who would be very hungry when he woke up.  I took full advantage of my pocket of time and whipped up a batch of these Biscoff-Brown Sugar Bars.  I've made them twice now, but with a slight change on the second batch, so be sure to read my notes.  My inspiration was classic lemon bars.  You know how lemon bars have a thin, crispy shell on top, then have a gooey filling with a crunchy crust?  So do these.  Only with Biscoff.  Yum.

Here are my notes:

-The first time I made them, I baked them for 30 minutes.  The top looked set and I let them cool completely before cutting.  The center was still slightly gooey and they were absolutely wonderful.  Delectable.  So much so that the only picture I got of the gooey centered ones was this:

Can you see the gooey filling?  Not a great picture, I know.  Served this way, they would be great as a dessert bar with a fork.  This was my favorite.  The top forms a thin, crispy layer, then comes a gooey filling, then crunchy from the crust.

-The second time I made them, I decreased the brown sugar in my filling by 1/2 cup, and I baked them for 40 minutes.  The result was a bar that was much firmer, but still soft, just not gooey.  These were also delicious.  They would be easy to hand hold and great for a bake sale.

Biscoff-Brown Sugar Bars

Printable Recipe

Crust:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling:

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1/2 cup Biscoff spread

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Powdered sugar for sprinkling tops

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine crust ingredients on low to medium speed just until mixture is evenly mixed and moist.  (It will start clumping together.) Dump into an 8 x 8 inch baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Press mixture onto bottom of pan in an even layer. (Use wet fingers if mixture sticks to skin.)  Prick 6-8 times with a fork, then bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown around edges.

Meanwhile, beat the ingredients for the filling on medium speed until smooth.  When crust is done, pour mixture evenly over crust and bake for 30 minutes or until middle is just set. Cool completely on wire rack before cutting into bars.  Sprinkle each bar with powdered sugar, if desired.

*For a firmer bar, decrease light brown sugar in filling to 1 cup, then bake for 40 minutes.