Dalmatian Bars

Have you seen Julie and Julia yet? If not, drop everything and go see it. It’s a wonderful film. These brownies made me reminisce about that movie. Not because Julie and Julia features Dalmatians or because this is a French recipe. But because it hs one thing in common with most French recipes: LOTS of butter.

This a delicious dessert (remember the butter?) featuring two of my favorite things: macadamia nuts and white chocolate chips. These bars are easily made without a mixer. Your stirring arm will get a work out, but that’s ok. You’ll need to burn up some calories so you can eat more of these delicious treats.

First, melt the butter and the chocolate. You can do this in a double boiler. I don’t have a double boiler, so I just use a small saucepan and keep it on low heat. I melt the butter first, so the chocolate can swim in it, and not get scorched.



Stir this often and keep on the heat just until it’s melted. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.



Measure the sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla. (I usually put the eggs in a small bowl and beat them lightly before adding them to the sugar.)



Add the chocolate mixture to the sugar and stir until well blended.



Then add the flour and mix well.



Add the chopped macadamia nuts. These are not cheap. If you belong to a warehouse club, I would highly recommend purchasing them there. You will gasp at the price, but believe me, it’s much cheaper than the grocery store. Store them in the freezer and they will keep for a long time.



And finally, add half of the white chocolate chips.



Spread the batter evenly into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the remaining white chocolate chips over the top. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until bars are firm and white chips are golden. Cut into bars after cooling completely.

Just as good, if not better, than any French delicacy, in my opinion.

Find more dessert inspiration at Stop and Smell the Chocolates and What did you Bake Today? There are more great recipes at Food on Fridays, Foodie Friday, Family Recipe Fridays, and Friday Feasts.

Dalmatian Bars
4-1 oz. squares unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. chopped macadamia nuts
1 c. white chocolate chips

Melt the butter and the chocolate, stirring often, until smooth. In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add the chocolate to the sugar mixture and stir until well blended. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in the nuts and ½ cup of the chips.

Spread the batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the remaining chips over the top. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 24.