Mud Hen Bars
Mud Hen Bars are a vintage dessert from Grandma’s cookbook. It has a cookie bar base, topped with a rich layer of walnuts, chocolate and melted marshmallows followed by a sweet brown sugar meringue topping.
They may not be the prettiest dessert, but they sure are tasty. One bar is usually never enough. I get the cravings for Mud Hen Bars and I end up eating two or three. Eek!
They are sweet, chewy, gooey and oh so yummy. Grandma’s have the best recipes, don’t you think?
The name is kinda weird, but don’t judge these decadent bars until you try them at least once. They were gobbled up quickly at my home.
Ingredients
The full printable recipe card with measurements and instructions is found at the bottom of the post.
- Shortening
- Sugar
- Egg
- Egg yolks
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Walnuts
- Semisweet chocolate chips
- Mini marshmallows
- Brown sugar
- Egg whites
How to Make Mud Hen Bars
- Step One: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan and set aside.
- Step Two: Add shortening and sugar to a bowl and cream together with an electric mixer. Beat in egg and egg yolks.
- Step Three: In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to sugar mixture and stir together until combined.
- Step Four: Spread mixture on the bottom of the baking pan. Sprinkle walnuts, semisweet chocolate chips and marshmallows on top.
- Step Five: In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold in brown sugar. Spread in the baking pan.
- Step Six: Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool and then cut into bars.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
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Yes, you dirty a lot of bowls to make this recipe, but it’s so worth it.
I think my favourite part of the recipe is the brown sugar meringue topping. It’s pure bliss.
I’m not even sure what the origin of Mud Hen Bars are, but I do know that it’s a very old-fashioned recipe. You might even remember your grandmother making them.
Vintage Desserts
Looking for more vintage desserts a.k.a. Grandma’s recipes? I’ve got several for you to try!
- Half-Hour Pudding: An easy vintage dessert recipe just like Grandma used to make. The sweet bread pudding bakes in a rich caramel sauce for 30 minutes.
- Cracker Pudding: A vintage Pennsylvania Dutch dessert recipe that is creamy and sweet.
- Oatmeal Pie: An old fashioned dessert just like Grandma used to make!
- Wacky Cake: Moist, chocolatey and easy to make! This vintage cake was popular in the Depression era and contains no butter, milk or eggs.
- Radio Pudding: A simple vintage recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation. The cake base bakes right in a luscious butterscotch sauce.
You’ll also like Chocolate Surprise Bars, Double Chocolate Meringue Cookies and Sugar Pie.
If you make these Mud Hen Bars, I’d love to hear how they turned out for you.
Did your grandma make Mud Hen Bars, too?
Follow me on Instagram @simplystacieblog, Facebook at Simply Stacie, TikTok @simplystacierecipes or Pinterest at @simplystacie and let me know how you liked this recipe and my other recipes.
Mud Hen Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 egg whites
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan and set aside.
- Add shortening and sugar to a bowl and cream together with an electric mixer. Beat in egg and egg yolks.
- In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to sugar mixture and stir together until combined.
- Spread mixture on the bottom of the baking pan. Sprinkle walnuts, semisweet chocolate chips and marshmallows on top.
- In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold in brown sugar. Spread in the baking pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool and then cut into bars.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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I have never ever heard of mud hen bars. I always love a good dessert with a fun name! Pinned.
Very cute name, and they look delicious! They would make a fun and tasty addition to my “treat tins” that I like to give to friends at christmas time! Thank you for sharing at Celebrate it!
Your Mud Hen Bars will be a very special treat! Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday!
Miz Helen
This was my first time ever trying this vintage dessert, and it turned out super yummy! So glad I tried it!