Happy Valentine’s Day Eve! Are you sick of all the heart-shaped food posts in the blogosphere yet? Sorry, I have another one. To celebrate Valentine’s Day, I made my all-time favorite bar cookie. Yes, I said bar cookie. My husband says this is redundant, and they are called bars. But I think it’s important to distinguish that we are not making bars of soap or forming bars of gold. We are making bars of cookies! What do you call them?
This recipe is from the 1967 Pillsbury’s Bake Off Cookie Book. It’s a compilation of eighteen years of prize wining recipes, and it’s a really good one. You can usually find used copies on eBay or Etsy.
Many of the cookies my Mom makes for Christmas come from this cookbook, including Split Levels. I always request these for Christmas, but chocolate and almond flavors are really perfect any time of year.
The recipe calls for a 11″ x 7″ baking pan. I make them in an 9″ square pan. Since it’s Valentine’s Day and I’m sharing these with a person who HATES nuts in baked goods, I’ve eliminated the walnuts and sesame seed. The almond extract stays, though. It’s the almond extract that really makes this cookie something special. The fragrance that fills the kitchen when the almond extract mixes with the butter is sugar is pure heaven.
You will want to eat this all with a spoon. Try to resist.
I sprinkled them with just a touch of pink Himalayan sea salt just before eating. I love a little salty with my sweet.
Untwisted Split Levels for Nut Haters
Chocolate Filling
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Crumb Crust
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Extras
Sea salt
1. In a saucepan, combine the chocolate chips, cream cheese and evaporated milk. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly.
2. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract. Set aside.
3. Combine all the crust ingredients. Blend well with a mixer until particles are fine crumbs.
4. Press half of the crumbs in a greased (or foil lined) 9″square pan. Spread the filling over the top. Sprinkle the rest of the crumbs over the filling.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Keep an eye on it. I take it out once the edges start to turn slightly brown. Once it starts to brown, it will brown really quickly.
6. When cooled, cut into squares or use your favorite cookie cutter. Sprinkle with sea salt if desired.
If the bars are cut into hearts are can they still be bars? Let’s just call them Split Levels.
“sorry, I have another one”. LOL! I love recipes like this. And I especially love bar cookies as a thing to eat. This is awesome on so many levels!
Thank you!
My mom had that cookbook, so many good recipes including split levels! We were treated to these a few times a year and always loved them. Mom passed a few years ago and one of my brothers must have grabbed the book so I’m happy to have this page from my childhood!!
It’s so nice to meet another person who fondly remembers this cookbook!