Garrett WollmanToday I learned that Congo Bars (at least the version in Nancy Baggett's THE ALL-AMERICAN COOKIE BOOK) are actually a tart.
Here's the BOM for this recipe (baked in a 9x13 pan, allegedly makes 20 but I haven't sliced them yet, and I used more expensive ingredients than shown here):
In other news: sugar is cheap; nuts are expensive.
And eggs are not very expensive (even though state law requires cage-free).
I have never made Congo bars before, at least not of the type Baggett's recipe is (with condensed milk). I'm not entirely sure there is a universally agreed definition of what actually constitutes a Congo bar (although obviously nothing to do with the Congo!) — my memories include things that might today be described as "seven layer bars" and "blondies" under the same rubric. I think the common features are nuts, chocolate chunks, coconut, and something with a caramel-y flavor.
This version, as I said, is basically a tart, with a par-baked pate sucree base and a custard filling, but where the custard has nearly half its weight in added flavorings (nuts and chocolate chips).
I think I've had something similar to this recipe but made with butterscotch chips rather than chocolate? Not sure. There are an awful lot of things in this general category.
Michael Dexter@wollman I see the OpenZFS Summit has a new member of the Kitchen Crew!