Glossy Fudge Brownies
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Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
These fudgy brownies are rich and complex. Brownies are all about brown ingredients—dark chocolate, Dutch cocoa powder, and brown sugar—but this recipe adds one more: brown butter.
Sweet and Salty Stout Marshmallow Bars With Pretzels and Potato Chips
![A tray of cereal bars with chocolate, potato chips, pretzels, and a drizzle of chocolate.]()
Serious Eats / Morgan Eisenberg
The Rice Krispie treats of your childhood get a grown-up makeover thanks to crushed potato chips and pretzels bound with homemade chocolate-stout marshmallow.
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
![Cut bars of strawberry pretzel salad.]()
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
Not a salad but definitely a dessert, strawberry pretzel salad is a delightfully salty-sweet, creamy, and crunchy staple at picnics, potlucks, and holiday celebrations.
Salted Dulce de Leche Brownies
![A gooey salted dulce de leche brownie on a plate next to a glass of milk.]()
Serious Eats / Nila Jones
These rich, super-fudgy brownies are topped with dollops of homemade dulce de leche and a generous sprinkle of sea salt. Consider yourself warned, because you're going to want to make these every day.
Continue to 5 of 14 belowJammy Fruit Bars
![An overhead view of a board filled with jammy fruit bars and a plate with a single fruit bar alongside.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
These bars are a perfect vehicle for market-fresh blueberries, cherries, and peaches in season, or your favorite jam during those times in between.
Vegan Brownies
![A vegan brownie on a plate with several cut brownies on a wooden board behind.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
With Dutch cocoa, dark chocolate, and cocoa butter, these vegan brownies are fudgy and flavorful, with beautifully glossy tops.
Sunny Lemon Bars
![Lemon bars cut into squares and dusted with powdered sugar on a marble countertop.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
A cross between lemon curd and lemon meringue pie, these lemon bars have a tender crust and a generous yellow filling made with whole eggs and yolks.
Biko (Filipino Sticky Rice Cake)
![A plate of biko on a decorative plate.]()
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
These sticky and sweet rice cakes are topped with a gooey caramel glaze and crispy coconut curds.
Continue to 9 of 14 belowCornflake Marshmallow Treats
![Overhead view of cornflake crispies.]()
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
The naturally sweet and earthy flavor of Corn Flakes shines in this riff on classic Rice Krispies treats.
Maple Walnut Blondies
![A stack of maple walnut blondies.]()
Serious Eats / Yvonne Ruperti
Pure maple syrup and chopped walnuts add extra flavor and texture to simple blondies.
Pistachio Millionaire's Shortbread With Coriander Butterscotch Recipe
![A stack of pistachio millionaire's shortbread.]()
Serious Eats / Robyn Lee
Adding ground pistachios to the shortbread here adds flavor and keeps the dough from becoming tough. Fruity, citrusy coriander adds welcome complexity to the whiskey-spiked butterscotch sauce and the acidity of dark chocolate offsets the sweet richness of the butterscotch and shortbread.
Brown Butter Blondies
![A stack of three brown butter blondies.]()
Serious Eats / Carrie Vasios
Blondies already have a butterscotch-y, caramel-y flavor thanks to ample amounts of brown sugar and some vanilla. Adding browned butter simply takes that same flavor profile up a notch.
Continue to 13 of 14 belowSalted Cashew Caramel Bars
![A stack of two salted caramel cashew bars on a white plate.]()
Serious Eats / Carrie Vasios Mullins
These bars are dangerously crave-worthy. The first step is to make a shortbread cookie base that's buttery and a bit salty. The second is to make a gooey caramel topping and mix it with salted cashews.
Hello Dolly Bars
![Two Hello Dolly bars on a plate.]()
Serious Eats / Carrie Vasios
Also known as "seven-layer bars" and "magic cookies," these gooey treats combine coconut, chocolate chips, pecans, and a graham cracker base.
14 Dessert Bar Recipes That Are Easier Than Cookies (But Just as Delicious)
For potlucks, bake sales, or just because, dessert bars are a cut above the rest.
Published October 02, 2023
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Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
Cakes can be fussy, and cookies take some work to portion and bake. But dessert bars? Layer everything in a single pan, bake it, and slice into squares for that potluck, bake sale, or lunch box. No matter what you love, this list has what you're looking for. Bright citrus? Chewy caramel? Deep, dark chocolate? We've got you covered with 14 of the best dessert bar recipes.
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