Staying Fit
Makes 9 squares
Ask anyone on my team my top two questions when we’re tasting a potential new creation for the bakery, and they will tell you they are:
1. Think it could be a little sweeter?
2. Can you give it more goo?
It’s no surprise that this dense, sweet, gooey monster is a deep part of Milk Bar’s flavor and textural heritage and is also the one that best represents what excites me about this world. I love that its look is unassuming and its composition impossible to wrap your head around — two of my favorite qualities in an excellent human and a baked good. This bar is my go-to recipe when I don’t feel like going to pie town. It turns the classic Milk Bar Pie ratio upside down: This is about 2 parts toasted oat cookie crust to 1 part gooey, buttery filling. And no one’s mad at it.
Tip: If you don’t have freeze-dried corn (and therefore can’t make corn powder), substitute with corn flour, all-purpose flour, or anything flavorful you can grind down (pretzel powder is usually my stand-in). It’s not exactly the same, but likely only you will know the difference.
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Ingredients
Toasted Oat Crust:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1½ tablespoons sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- Pinch of baking powder
Gooey Butter Filling:
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar (packed)
- 2 tablespoons milk powder
- 1 teaspoon corn powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 large egg yolks
- Confectioners’ sugar, to finish