I’m absconding with the Mississippi Mud Bars.
You see, this recipe for an intensely buttery, fudgy brownie that’s interlaced with chocolate chips, smothered with a layer of gooey, melty marshmallows, then smeared a layer of shiny fudge frosting is sized for two and, quite frankly, I want both servings.
The recipe for this decadent gift from the chocolate gods hails from the latest cookbook in my collection, Dessert for Two. This bible of small-batch dessert baking—recipes that yield desserts for two or a few, instead of eight to 10—has been in my possession only a few short weeks, and I’ve already splattered its pages with butter. For a cookbook, I can imagine no higher praise.
First, I appreciate Dessert for Two as a resource to bake desserts that are more appropriately sized for our household of two, especially since only of us (ahem, moi) has a serious sweet tooth. I am also smitten with its appetite-inducing photography and the exciting range of dessert options—from cheesecakes to meringues to oatmeal cream pies, this book truly offers something for everyone. Finally, Dessert for Two feels alive, thanks to the personal stories and creativity of its author, Christina.
Christina and I became “blog friends” at some point in 2013 when I emailed her because, “OMG! Your wedding colors are the same as MY wedding colors! Don’t you just LOVE coral? And you love whiskey? I love whiskey. We should be friends!”
For whatever strange reason, instead of blocking my email address and taking out a restraining order against me, Christina sent me a super sweet response. I owe one of my dearest friendships—in both the blog world and the real world—to a shade of pink and booze.
Decadent and Rich Mississippi Mud Bars
Christina’s blog and now her cookbook have become my dessert recipe go-tos. I can have her Brownies for Two recipe mixed and in the oven in less than seven minutes—a magnificent, dangerous ability—and every leftover baguette in our house meets its ultimate destiny as one her bread puddings (this recipe and this one are two of my favorites).
Choosing a recipe from Dessert for Two to feature here was no casual task. Should I begin with the Hello Dolly Bars or the Lemon Amaretto Rice Pudding? The Peanut Butter Pie or the Moonshine Tiramisu? I finally settled on Mississippi Mud Bars for one ironclad reason: her husband Brian told me that they were one of his absolute favorites from the book. Brian, you have excellent taste.
Christina’s Mississippi Mud Bars are positively sinful, and I loved every indulgent bite. From start to finish, I had these babies in the oven in less than 10 minutes, and with a large enough cup of coffee at my disposal, I’m confident that I could polish off the pan in 15.
How to Store Mississippi Mud Brownies
- To Store. Bars can be stored in an airtight storage container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- To Freeze. Store leftover bars in an airtight freezer-safe storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
More Delicious Chocolate Treats
- Vegan Brownies
- Chocolate Muffins
- Avocado Brownies
- Dark Chocolate Red Wine Truffles
- Double Dark Chocolate Cookies
In the meantime, here’s the recipe for the most glorious Mississippi Mud Bars. Feel free to share them with your Valentine…or devour them all while he/she’s out of the room. I’ll love you just the same!
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Wishing you all a sweet day, filled with your favorite treats.
Mississippi Mud Bars
Ingredients
For the Bars:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar plus 1 tablespoon
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus 2 tablespoons
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
For the Frosting:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- TO MAKE THE BARS: Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium-size, microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and cocoa powder. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture very well, and then microwave for another 30 seconds. Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave.
- Add the salt and vanilla to the warm butter mixture, and stir for about a minute to cool down the batter. Next, stir in the egg until well combined.
- Sprinkle in the flour, and then give the batter about fifty brisk strokes, using a wooden spoon. Stir in the chocolate chips, and then spread the mixture in the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 23 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should have moist crumbs.
- Top evenly with the mini marshmallows, and return the pan to the oven for 2 to 5 minutes. The marshmallows will puff up, but it’s best to remove the pan from the oven before they start to brown.
- TO MAKE THE FROSTING: Remove the pan from the oven, and then begin making the frosting. Beat together all the ingredients until thick and spreadable. Pour evenly over the marshmallow layer while still warm, and refrigerate until set.
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RegisterI am delighted to be providing a copy of Dessert for Two to the giveaway winner. As always, all opinions are my own.
These bars look amazing! I love dessert for two and can’t wait to dig into her book!
These look amazing! But cream puffs are still my favorite dessert! :)
They look drool worthy! Love those layers Christina, so happy for you. This cookbook looks like a keeper for sure!
Pinned.
Happy Valentine’s day!
Woot woot. Chocolate and Christina’s book all on a Friday. Could there be anything better? My favorite dessert is definitely brownies. Tried and true.
My favorite dessert is creme brulee!
you’ve asked a question that’s impossible to answer. :)
Crème Brulee!!
My favorite dessert is just about anything with chocolate, but if I had to be specific I love mocha chocolate chip cookies (basically your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe with either instant coffee or very finely ground coffee added).
That is a tough question! It’s easier for me to say a dessert that I don’t like…not a fan of creme brulee or lemony things!
I have so many I love, but I guess I really love any dessert with cherries.
The single serve chocolate chip cookies look pretty amazing, so I’d say they’re my favorite today. :)
Hot fudge brownie sundae!
Brownies are my favorite dessert, and a “for two” batch is perfect as my husband won’t touch them!
My favorite dessert? Anything that involves chocolate and/or ice cream!
I got this book on Wednesday and I already have like 3/4 of the recipes bookmarked. It’s insane! Christina is amazing!
I LOVE cookies. Especially peanut butter cookies, yum!
a favorite dessert of mine is Burnt Sugar Chiffon cake. Happy Valentines Day. I love you and you lawyer!!
i love apple pie
Molten chocolate cake :D
Love the idea of dessert recipe set for two… having lots of excess sweets in the house is dangerous as we approach spring break season!
You are too kind! Thanks for the stellar review! I can’t wait to drink whiskey again with you soon! ;)
Yummy looking recipe! My favorite is a chocolate eclair! Thanks for the giveaway and Happy Friday!
Those bars look SO yummy and chocolately! And I love the gooey marshmallow layer, too delicious!! Pinned :)
These bars look so decadent and delicious! All the layers sound perfect! Love Christina and can’t wait to try these!
I’m afraid I personally don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I love baking for my family. One of their favorites is red velvet cake.
I love the dessert for two blog & want this cookbook so bad!!!!!
I’m not sure how anyone can pick just ONE favorite dessert but I think if I had to choose I’d go with the classic, chocolate chip cookies
Yummy for my tummy!! Those look oh so good!! I would love that cookbook. I love chocolate!! also love to bake!! Yum o
I love a good cookie! This cookbook looks perfect… Congrats to Christina! :)
definitely brownies, and these look soooo good!
This fits right into my dessert “sweet spot”! Something rich with chocolate!
I love all dessert and these bars looks amazing! Anything chocolate is a win!
My favorite dessert is blueberry pie
Coffee ice cream is my favorite with frosted sugar cookies not far behind!
My problem is I love all desserts. Maybe chocolate mousse cake has a slight edge over the rest.
Yowza! How amazing those look. The one good thing about regular batch baking is sharing! But “for 2” ideas would be very handy as well! Thx Erin!!
Delish!
Can’t wait to get this!
My new favorite dessert is Baked Alaska! Had for the first time in San Diego for my birthday dinner & it was fabulous!
Love any dessert that involves strawberries! Thanks for the giveaway!
Any dessert with peanut butter catches my attention.
Anything chocolate related!
My favorite dessert is cheesecake. Any flavor…as long as it has cream cheese, I’ll eat it!
Apple crisp
Banana cream pie!
Hmm.. My favorite ever would be Tiramisu. Closely followed by Cheesecake!
My favorite dessert is chocolate cake.
Hi Erin! Well, I have to ask it, “How do you bloggers stay so thin with all the cooking you do?” It is amazing! Hmm. I can honestly say, I don’t have one favorite dessert. I love them all and depends on what mood I’m in or I guess… whatever dessert catches my eye. I am one of those people that completely and totally eats with my eyes!
lol Marsha! I get that question often :) Honestly, it’s nothing exciting or revolutionary: a combination of lucky genetics, regular exercise, and portion control. I eat dessert every day, but I eat lots of fruits, veggies, and whole grains every day too!
And despite asking for your favorite dessert, I agree with you—it’s so so hard to choose just one!
Oh my!! Chocolate yumminess and a chance to in a cookbook! *happy dance*
Pumpkin pie
magic bars!! thick and gooey
I love pineapple upside down cake!
My favorite dessert is one that reminds me of my childhood. My Grandmother use to make old fashioned Banana Pudding for me as a child and I loved it! So that is my favorite dessert
I’ve already gotten my fix of my favorite (Valentine’s) gourmet cupcakes, but these look divine.
I adore an angel food cake with strawberries and real whipped cream
My favorite dessert is creme brûlée
Mocha cake!
I love cheesecake and anything chocolate.
My favorite dessert is homemade vanilla bean ice cream followed by a Texas sheet cake!
All of the Cheesecake desserts are my favorite, as I adore Cheesecake. The concept and cookbook “for two”
is a great idea. Thanks for the opportunity to win.
These mud pie bars made my short list too but I think I am going to make the lemon cake tomorrow for us. I cannot wait to try these bars soon after. I am just loving Christina’s book!!
Favorite dessert…can’t ever pass up homemade chocolate chip cookies!
My favorite dessert is chocolate fudge cake!
I love chocolate cake with a layer of chocolate ganache and chocolate buttercream. I make one with a chocolate stout and its quite tantalizing!
anything with chocolate and peanut butter!
I’m all about peanut butter anything for dessert!
My favorite dessert is carrot cake….
P.S. Just fyi it takes more than a few moments to load….
Fantastic. Thank you and Happy Valentine’s Day.
Love German Chocolate cake and Coconut Pie!!!!
It still hasn’t loaded…. I even refreshed the page twice, and then went out yo weed in the garden !!! Haha happy valentines day!
Hi Linda! I’m so sorry you are having trouble. I tried refreshing on my end too. Others have been able to enter today, so could it be your Internet connection? I would suggest clearing your browser’s cache as well. Sorry, I wish that I could do more to help!
Tiramisu
My favorite dessert is custard, custard pie, coconut custard pie. Is it obvious I like custard?
Can not wait to make these brownies!
My favorite desserts involve chocolate, peanut butter, or cookie dough…or all 3!
A warm brownie with vanilla ice cream!!
My absolute favorite dessert is gallette des rois, but my favorite that I can actually make would have to be chocolate covered strawberries or homemade icecream!!
Mmmmmmm…. these look perfectly gooey and delicious!
These Mississippi (I can’t type that without hearing the little kids song in my head of how to spell it!) Mud Pie Bars look so delicious! And I love Christina’s blog and am really excited about her book! Super cute pic of the two of you.
I’ve been wanting to make a Mississippi mud pie for YEARS and have never gotten around to it. These bars look so easy to make; I have no excuse for procrastinating any longer! :)
This is great news for those of us with no self control who eat whole pans of brownies!
This recipe and book is so great, just for two how perfect
My favorite is anything chocolate! I’m sure this book is awesome- thanks for the give a way!
brownies
I love anything chocolate, but after a heavy meal, a chocolate mousse flavored with Kahlua delights me. It’s light and heavenly. O:-)
Crème brûlée
Saw her segment on QVC and have been anxiously awaiting her cookbook. Warm chocolate chip cookies…delicious!
As an empty nester this book would be great to add to my collection!
I’ve never heard of Mississippi mud bars before, but WOW! They look beyond fantastic. I love the idea of dessert for two – especially if they’re recipes I can whip up in a matter of minutes. Doesn’t get better than that!
I love anything with chocolate!
I am thinking these bars will soon become my favorite dessert. Off to make them for tonight’s snack.
my mom’s raspberry angel food torte
These mud pie bars look incredible! I’m excited for the chance to win Christina’s cookbook! If I had to choose, I’d say cookies and ice cream are my favorite desserts!
Chocolate anything! And cherry pie
My favorite dessert is brownies with walnuts.
Any type of crisp; apple, rhubarb, cherry.
My very favorite dessert is Southern Style Pecan Pie, topped with a scoop of Haagen-Daz Dulche de Leche ice cream. But I am also a die-hard chocolate fan, especially dark chocolate!
Cheesecake!
Dang girl, massive question. Anything with cookies and cream, also love me some of grams apple pie, chocolate mousse, crisps/crumbles of any persuasion, pavlova. Great giveaway Erin. :) Hope you had a stella VDay and you have an even better week ahead. Cheers, Anna
I love anything turtley-y – a brownie, cheesecake, a sundae… maybe all of them?
Wow these look fantastic. And I just got the book and it is so wonderful. Also my wedding colors were coral too so I totally understand the love!
I love both of you girls!! I can’t wait to get Christina’s book. My favorite dessert? PIE!!
These mississippi mud pie bars look so delicious! Hope you had a great weekend! My favorite dessert has to be macarons.
My favorite is Red Velvet Cake.
These look so good! We need a cookbook that just has small portions for desert. My fave desert is either trifle or oatmeal raisin cookies!
TIRAMISU!
I think Caramel Apple Pie would be my favorite even though I have never met a chocolate dessert that I didn’t like. I am weak.
Peanut butter Pie
Dobashe cake is my favorite dessert.
My wedding colors didn’t involve coral due to a florist mistake (seriously – she ordered the wrong flowers), but I love it and desserts so I think the three of us would get along famously! ;)
Creme Brulee is my favorite
I’m a big fan of anything sweet, but I think Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake might be my favorite dessert!
Brownies!
Hi Erin,
your Mississippi mud bars look AMAZING and i want to bake them but i have a 13 x 9″ pan. In this case should i duplicate the recipe and the baking time or how should i proceed?
Thank you for your help in advance!
Hi Melissa! Great question, and I am afraid there is no easy answer. This recipe is written and tested for a 9×5 loaf pan, so I just can’t say how it would perform in a larger one. You’d probably be OK with an 8×4 inch loaf pan (the baking time would have to be adjusted a little), but I think a 9×13-inch pan would be a pretty big jump. You can certainly feel free to experiment, but I’m afraid I just can’t give you specific direction. Sorry!
America’s Test Kitchen did a story about up-sizing or down-sizing recipes and the basic gist had to do with area ratios. A 9×5 pan has an area of 45 whereas the area of a 13×9 is 117 which is 2.6 times bigger than the 9×5 (117/45=2.6). I made this last weekend and simplified it to 2.5. The only trick was the eggs, easily fixed with a scale :-). Personally, I thought the brownie layer was a little thin so next time I’ll probably go triple. I didn’t measure the marshmallows, I just put enough on to cover the pan.
Cook time wasn’t much different, but just keep checking it with a toothpick.
Good Luck!
p.s. Erin – SOOO Love your site, writing and pictures. THANK YOU!
Burton, I can’t thank you enough for this! You made my night :)
My favorite dessert is probably creme brulee
I love anything with chocolate and pecans, especially my Mom’s chocolate cake.
Love this cake!
Erin, I’m so thrilled for Christina and love seeing all of the success she’s been having with the book!! Fave dessert: chocolate cake!
Gosh I don’t know what my favorite dessert is! I have SO many. A good, properly made chocolate mousse is to die for! Cheesecake…cheesecake is always good! I just can’t choose!
Love the recipes you post and thanks for the contests, too!
Thank YOU Susan!
the middle brownie, no edges, still warm and soft is one of my favorite desserts
Yay!!! Thanks so much for the book! Can’t wait to get started. Except I have a feeling for me it will be more like “Desserts for One” ;)
Then you will have even more dessert to love :) Thanks for entering the giveaway Elaine, and congrats. I hope you love the book as much as I do!
These are delicious but how do you spread frosting on top of warm, gooey marshmallows?? Yours look so perfect!
Hi Crystal, I’m blushing :) My secret is an offset spatula. It is perfect for frosting desserts of all kinds. With this guy, the frosting just glides right on! (I have and love this one: http://amzn.to/1Cq2mcc).
Oh my these are a winner…..I make a Mississippi mud cake, but never thought to make them as a brownie :) You come up with some great ideas….am making this next…..
Another question I forgot to ask…..approx. how many does this make ? I know it’s according to how large you cut them, but how many did you get by cutting them the size you did ?
Hi! So sorry I’m just now seeing this question: The recipe is baked in a 9×5-inch pan, which I cut into six small squares, though the final size of each bar is up to you and how you’d like to cut them.
Wow really disappointed with this recipe! Made the first batch, had to cook them for 35 minutes instead of 23 and still weren’t done. Marshmallows didn’t hold up under the weight of the chocolate which was impossible to spread. Made another batch to make sure I did everything correctly, same thing. Will not be making these again!
I am so sad to hear this! I know it’s very disappointing to try a recipe and not have it work out. I’ve made these about four times myself, sometimes with the marshmallows and sometimes without, but it has worked for me all of the times. I wish I could pinpoint what went wrong, but it’s difficult without being in the kitchen beside you. Regardless, I’m so sorry that you didn’t have the same experience I did, and I wish you better luck with future recipes!
Double the recipe for a 13x9x2?
I have more than 2 that want to eat this?
Hi Rohde! I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this actually just makes a 9 x 4″ pan, so even doubling wouldn’t be large enough. When you’re multiplying a recipe that many times in baking, it can be really risky. Because of that, I honestly can’t vouch for the results. I’m sorry I can’t give you answer that you are looking for, but I want this to turn out for you and for you to know that you would be in the realm of experimentation.
Followed the recipe exactly and they were delicious!!
I’m so happy to hear that Sharon! Thank you for letting me know :)
9x5x3 loaf pan … is that a bread pan ???
Hi Joyce! A loaf pan is commonly used for bread, yes!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I made it last night for my husband and me. The only big change was that I didn’t add the mini chips to the brownie base. I also had just the large marshmallows, so I cut some in half and used those. I had some pecans, so I added them to the icing. Oh my! These are delicious and perfect portions.
Cynthia, I am so glad, thank you!!
You are welcome! Hubby thinks these need to be a weekly occurrence. LOL! We shall see…
Hi, Erin. Greetings from Zurich, Switzerland. I would like to make the Mud Bars for my American Women’s Club Montly Coffee activity, theme this time being “Go Green,” so thought the “mud” element would be fun, not to mention delicious. Already saw the brilliant advice on using a larger pan from the remarks column. My question is: How far in advance can I prepare this? I would like to make it the day before, would that work? I know the brownie part is fine made ahead, just not sure about the marshmallow bit holding up.
Thanks!, Maxine
Maxine, a day ahead will be fine. I hope you all love them. What a fun event!
To use a 9×13 pan, should I double the recipe
Hi Stella! Great question, and I am afraid there is no easy answer. This recipe is written and tested for a 9×5 loaf pan, so I just can’t say how it would perform in a larger one. I think a 9×13-inch pan would be a pretty big jump. You can certainly feel free to experiment, but I’m afraid I just can’t give you specific direction. Sorry!