The random winner of “The Daily Cookie” by Anna Ginsberg ($16.13 on Amazon) is blog reader Patrick. Congratulations, Patrick! Now you’ll have all sorts of recipes for cookie bars that you can make and sneak slivers of whenever you are lurking in the kitchen.

Thank you to everybody who entered this contest. If you’re bummed that you didn’t win, remember that I always do a countdown to the New Year in cookbooks! So in the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, I’ll be giving away a different cookbook every single day.

As usual, I will share a couple more recipes from the book for all of us to enjoy.

Click “Read More” to see recipes for Mississippi Mud Cups and Pumpkin Pie Bars. Enjoy!

Mississippi Mud Cups
Makes 20

1 cup (4.5 oz.) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. (4 oz.) unsalted butter
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
4 oz. white baker’s chocolate, chopped
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
10 large marshmallows, halved

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center. Line 20 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until creamy. Reduce the mixer speed slightly and beat in the egg and vanilla. By hand or using the lowest speed of the mixer, stir in the flour mixture. Stir in half of the dark chocolate, half of the white chocolate, and half of the pecans.

4. Spoon a slightly heaping tablespoonful of batter into each prepared muffin cup, dividing evenly among all 20 cups. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the cakes are browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and immediately stick a marshmallow half, cut side down, in the center of each cake. Mix together the remaining chocolate and white chocolate and scatter around each marshmallow. Cover the pans tightly with a sheet of nonstick foil and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove foil. With the tip of a knife, swirl the softened chocolate and marshmallow around a little to make kind of a marbled pattern. Or you can skip the swirling and leave it as-is. Sprinkle remaining pecans over the top and let cool completely before serving.

Note: You may substitute 1 1/3 cups dark chocolate chips and 2/3 cup white chocolate chips for the dark and white chocolate.

Pumpkin Pie Bars
Makes 24

Crust:
12 Tbsp. (6 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups (6.8 oz.) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats (not instant)
Filling:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 1/3 cups (11 oz.) evaporated milk
3 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Sweetened whipped cream for topping (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position rack in the center of the oven. Line a 9×13-inch metal pan with nonstick foil or spray with flour-added baking spray.

2. Make the crust: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter, salt, and brown sugar on medium speed until creamy. By hand, stir in the flour and oats. Press into the bottom of the pan and bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until set.

3. Make the filling: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, pumpkin, evaporated milk, cream, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Pour over the baked crust and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the edges seem set and the center still seems a little wobbly. Let cool completely in the pan. The wobbly center should firm up as it cools. Chill the bars for 2 hours before cutting. Cut into 24 bars. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Source: “The Daily Cookie” by Anna Ginsberg