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| the meringue top doesn't show well in the picture |
No, mud hens are not birds (in this case). Mud hens are a cookie bar, apparently a Southern treat, that I had never heard of before. I stumbled upon them on the internet and thought they looked interesting and worth a try. They consist of a cookie crust layer, then nuts, marshmallows, and chocolate chips, topped with a brown sugar meringue.
I'm not going to go into a lengthy post today. I'll just tell you a couple of things I would note about the recipe.
First off, they are really sweet. So you may wish to cut down on the sugar, perhaps in the crust layer and the meringue layer.
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| choc chips, marshmallows, nuts go over the cookie crust layer |
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| meringue is spread on top |
The original recipe called for making them in a 9x13 pan, which I did. As you can see from the pictures, they are a bit too thin. I have changed the directions to put them into a 9x9, but it's up to you. Considering the sweetness, you might want them thin. But I think the next time I make them I will do them in the 9x9 which will also mean less chocolate chips and marshmallows due to less surface area.
I will make them again, but with those changes for next time.
Mud Hens
taken from SouthernPlate.com
4 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 Cup sugar
1 whole egg
2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup Chopped Nuts (optional)
1 Cup Mini Marshmallows
1/2 Cup (or a little more) Nestle Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar (dark or light)
Butter or grease a 9x9 pan.
In a large bowl, cream the shortening, butter, and sugar. Beat in the whole egg and the yolks of the other two eggs.
In a separate bowl, shift he flour, baking powder, and salt together.
Combine the flour mixture with the creamed mixture, blending thoroughly.
Spread the batter into the baking pan, patting with your hands if need be.
Sprinkle chocolate chips, marshmallows, and nuts over the batter.
In large bowl, beat the 2 egg whites until stiff. Fold in brown sugar until well combined.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
Cool completely and then cut into bars.
