12 Days of Christmas Treats – winter white edition
Day 4 – Holiday Symphony Bars
vintage holiday bar recipe coming right up!
As long as I can remember, I have been baking the same Christmas cookies and bars. I try to mix it up and let a few new ones get a chance, but my family is very strict about their favorites. For this reason, I have to tell you about one of the first Christmas bar recipes that I made when I was a little girl. I am not sure where the recipe originated from, because the one I have is written on one of my vintage recipe cards! All I know is that I was a fan forever from the minute I took my first bite.
holiday symphony bars
every flavor represented!
It is important to realize that there are many fussy criteria for a Christmas cookie to make it on our platter! To put it another way, all of the ingredients have to be real and fresh. No substitutes or preservative anything in my baking! The next criteria is that the tray should boast a variety of cookies. To explain, this means that there should be some chocolate, buttery vanilla, and citrus represented.
get out your butter, sugar, flour and eggs!!
Holiday symphony bars are a wonder of their own. They are composed of three delectable layers of deliciousness. You begin by making a traditional batter of butter, eggs, sugar, and flour. The next step is to split this layer in half and spread it on the bottom of your pan. Next you add melted chocolate to the second half and spread it over the first. This creates a stunning bar with a white top and bottom, with chocolate nestled in the middle.
3 layer close up!
get ready for a fancy holiday bar!
The top layer or “frosting” of the bars is like biting into a layer of heaven. The frosting begins with the usual suspects of butter and sugar whipped to a creamy mixture. A milk and flour combination is heated on the stove until it thickens, and when it is cooled it is slowly added to the butter and sugar mixture. The final step for the frosting is to whip it until it reaches a fluffy consistency. Chopped walnuts are sprinkled on the top of the frosting, and in to the refrigerator it goes. There is nothing prettier than seeing a gorgeous three layer bar showing off on your cookie tray! This cookie bar defines Christmas at its best. Buttery layers of vanilla and chocolate covered in a rich and creamy frosting. It just doesn’t get any fancier than that!
holiday symphony bars
3 layers of buttery richness all ready to wow your holiday cookie tray!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour + cooling time
- Yield: 9 x 12 pan of bars 1x
- Category: bars
- Method: mix and bake
- Cuisine: Christmas
Ingredients
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
Frosting:
1 cup whole milk
5 TB flour
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
melt unsweetened chocolate and set aside to cool (I like to use the microwave – but be careful to only heat 10-15 seconds at a time so that you don’t cook the chocolate)
Mix butter, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy
Add eggs one at a time and mix just until incorporated
Add flour and salt and mix just until creamy
Pour 1/2 of batter in 9 x 12 baking pan
Add cooled melted chocolate to the remaining batter and mix well
Carefully spread the chocolate layer on top of the first layer making sure you cover all of the first batter layer
Bake 25-30 minutes or until tester comes out clean
COOL
Frosting:
Whisk flour and milk together in a medium saucepan and cook over medium low heat until thickened
Cool
Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy
Gradually add paste and beat at high speed for 5 minutes until light fluffly
Spread on cooled bars
Sprinkle with chopped walnuts
Refrigerate
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