Chocolate Sherry Cream Bar Cookies

Whew! two posts in one day! In addition to trying the chai tea cookies for the first time yesterday, I was inspired to try another recipe also listed in the Better Homes and Gardens Special Publications: Ultimate Cookies. The recipe, titled Chocolate-and-sherry cream bars (NOTE: originally formatted for a 15x10 baking dish, all references below are for the halved recipe that would suit the 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish size) really had my attention with its mouth-watering, centerpiece-esque photo, but similar to the chai tea cookies, this recipe ended up getting a makeover. I'll post my equally as mouth watering recipe below, but please know that the original exists out there for reference. I found the chocolate bottom a success, so I simply scaled down the original recipe for the fudgy bottom layer and conjured up a completely different recipe for the sherry cream layer.

Chocolate Sherry Cream Bar Cookies (suitable for 8X8 or 9X9 square baking pan)
Chocolate Bar
1/2 cup butter
2 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 (the prep for this recipe goes really quickly! I'm a fan!) In a double boiler over low or medium heat, heat the chocolate and butter, stirring to aid in even melting. Once melted, remove from heat, and mix in the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until combined. Mix in the flour, and pour into a greased baking pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.

Sherry Cream (to cover an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish)
At this point, this was one of those recipes that it wasn't until everything was all combined that I realized the recipe as written would never work and it needed to be made over. The original recipe, scaled down for a 9x9 dish, called for 2 cups of powdered sugar, a 1/8 cup sherry, and 1/8 cup half and half or light cream, whipped up, would never reach the fluffy, mousse-like texture that I so desperately craved, but instead had the consistency more of a gooey royal icing. I didn't feel comfortable risking the success of the fudgy bottom layer by topping it with this, so I scrapped it in favor of my own sherry cream recipe, which follows:

Approximately 1 cup Heavy Cream for whipping
a pinch cream of tartar
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 cup cream sherry

In the large bowl of a stand mixer (this can also be done with a hand mixer or by hand) fitted with the whisk, add the heavy cream and cream of tartar and whisk on high speed until soft peaks begin to form. Just after the soft peaks form, add 3 tablespoons powdered sugar and about half of the sherry, and whisk until incorporated. At this point, dig in - does it taste enough like sherry to suit you? Is it sweet enough? If the answer to either of these questions is no, then add more powdered sugar and/or sherry and whip again. Taste periodically and add more of either if necessary - I added a total of 4 tablespoons powdered sugar and a little less than 1/4 cup sherry, but a little extra of either is fine. Once you are pleased with the flavor, whisk the cream mixture until it is thickened; the peaks should be sturdy.

Scoop the above sherry cream mixture onto the chocolate bottom layer, smooth the top and drizzle melted chocolate over the top (alternatively, as the original recipe states, scaled down for a 9x9 dish, melt 1/4 cup chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon butter, add 2 tsp sherry, and then drizzle over the top... excellent too!). Place completed dessert in the refrigerator for at least an hour to firm up, before cutting and serving. Enjoy!

Modifications:
This recipe could also be easily modified to suit a gluten free diet. Try using a flourless chocolate cake recipe for the bottom layer!