I have a few kinds of baking ruts. One of them is when I just don’t have the inspiration to bake anything. The other kind is when I feel like baking, but don’t know what to bake, and feel like I’m just rotating through the same old things. Brownies, blondies, cookies, cake… There’s only so many things that come time mind without turning the baking into a project. But when I saw these Chocolate Fudge Poptart Bars show up in my inbox from Half Baked Harvest, it sparked inspiration. They’re like cookies mixed with brownies, but then something entirely new.
Poptarts also elicit a very niche sense of nostalgia. My mom only ever bought us pop tarts to have in the house at the start of the school year, as like a fun first-week back treat. And this maybe only happened one or two years in elementary school, but they were always a special treat. I always enjoyed the classic strawberry or the cinnamon-filled ones, and I never really like the plain crust bits.
The only other time I was allowed Pop Tarts was at snack time at the after school program I went to in elementary school. Every day we had snack time, and we only had Pop Tarts for snack time maybe 2 times… but they were memorable. Usually the snacks were at least healthy-adjacent. Granola bars or celery or something. But then some random Tuesday, they brought out Pop Tarts for everyone. And not just the regular strawberry kind. They were, if I remember correctly, the Hot Fudge Sundae kind.
Looking back, this was a bizarrely dangerous move for them to make. Every time after that, when they handed us all celery and peanut butter as a snack, everyone was going to remember the day we got HOT FUDGE SUNDAE POP TARTS. We knew they were somewhere in the building. We knew they were on the table as an option. And they had the nerve to give us celery?? If I were an adult, I would not want to reveal the possibility of Pop Tarts to a room full of children who get snacks every day. You’re just asking for future discontent. But maybe that’s just me.
So, adding marshmallow fluff to these Pop Tart bars were inspired by the memory of those Hot Fudge Sundae Pop Tarts. I have not had one since then, and the memory is pretty glorified in my mind, but I think these are almost guaranteed to taste better than those. They’re rich, and chocolatey, and the salt on top add a level of sophistication. The only thing I have to mention about these is that the marshmallow fluff made them… messy. The top and bottom halves sometimes slip and slide a bit, and it oozes. But you know what? I probably looked like a mess with chocolate on my face and sticky fingers when I was a kid eating that Hot Fudge Sundae Pop Tart in the 3rd grade. So, I suggest embracing that feeling and just getting a little messy.
Thinking back to the excitement of those Hot Fudge Sundae Pop Tarts in the 3rd grade, I want to thank my mom for making Pop Tarts just a special treat for us as kids. Because now as an adult, I just don’t crave junk food like Pop Tarts. They have a sheen of nostalgia, but I know that the nostalgia sheen makes them seem far better than the reality.
So now, in adulthood, I don’t want to buy them at the store. I just want to make super gourmet and far better versions of those treats, that hardly resemble them at all.
Print
PinIngredients
Fudge Sauce
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup whole milk or heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon salted butter, cubed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tub marshmallow fluff
Cookie Dough
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
Frosting
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3.2 ounces dark or milk chocolate, melted
- coarse salt or sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
1. To make the filling. Combine the chocolate and cocoa powder in a bowl. Heat the milk in a pot set over medium heat until steaming, about 5 minutes. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and whisk until the chocolate is melted. Whisk in the butter and vanilla. Set aside.
2. To make the cookie dough. In a bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, beat until incorporated. Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt, beating until just combined.
3. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×9 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
4. Divide the dough in half. Press half the dough into the prepared baking dish. Trace the 9×9 inch baking dish out on a sheet of parchment paper. Now roll the remaining dough out just past the edges of the traced-out square. Set aside.
5. Evenly spread the chocolate fudge over the dough in the baking dish. Then, scoop marshmallow fluff out and swirl across the chocolate fudge. Carefully invert the reserved dough square over the filling, pressing down gently to secure. Trim away any excess dough. See photos above.
6. Freeze the bars for 15 minutes. Bake foer 40 – 45 minutes, until just set in the center. Let cool.
7. To make the frosting. In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of water until smooth. Stir in the melted chocolate. If your frosting is too thick, thin with 1-2 tablespoons of additional water.
8. Spread the frosting over the pop-tart. Let set a few minutes, then top with salt/sugar. Let dry, then cut into bars. Serve or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.