For those of you who can’t decide between chocolate… or vanilla…, I introduce to you the Black and White Bar! It’s the perfect combination of both of your favorite flavors. These bars were a frequent “go to” recipe for my Mom. A perfect after-school treat. They are simple, quick, and easy. Most home bakers have these ingredients in their pantries already.
I would sometimes eat the chocolate layer first, followed by the vanilla layer. But the two flavors together are really yummy! They can be cut into long rectangles (like my Mom used to) or into brownie-type squares, or even little bite sized squares which are nice for a party platter. Although Mom NEVER frosted these – I have added chocolate frosting on occasion, to make them a bit more decadent!
Ingredients:
2 sticks of butter (room temp)
2 c sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 c nuts (walnuts or pecans – chopped)
Mix together butter and sugar, using a hand or stand mixer, till blended.
Add eggs and vanilla.
Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.
Add this to wet ingredients and blend well.
Add chopped nuts and blend.
Place 1/2 batter in another bowl and set aside. This is for the vanilla layer.
Leave the other 1/2 batter in the mixing bowl. Add 1/2 c cocoa powder to this bowl to create the chocolate layer, and blend well with a mixer. (Mom would sometimes use 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted – INSTEAD of the cocoa powder).
Spray a 13″ x 9″ pan with cooking spray. You can use parchment paper in the bottom if you want to just
lift out the slab when done baking! Pour vanilla batter into pan and spread to edges.
Then pour the chocolate batter over the top of the vanilla layer, and
again spread to the edges.
Bake at 350 for about 30 min.
Check for doneness with a toothpick (It should come out clean with no batter on it)
Let them cool, then you can frost (if desired), or just slice and enjoy!
