Chocolate Malted Shortbread

I love trying new things.

Well, not really. I don't love trying new foods. I've never had beets and I've never tasted mustard and I'm not going to, thankyouverymuch.

I love when I find new products at the grocery store. Especially when they are my kind of product, like cereal. Or candy. Or something I can bake with.

When I was in high school I had a friend whose mom had this same sort of love for new food products. And she wasn't on a budget so they always had the newest cereals and cookies and all sorts of great snack foods. Rice Krispie Treats Cereal, anyone? I think I *may* have eaten the majority of their box, because my mom wouldn't buy new things unless she knew I liked them. (She'd just send me to my friends' house for that.)

So when Melt Organic contacted me about trying their rich and creamy spread, of course I said yes. New product? For cooking and baking? Of course I want some!

Melt Organic is a new buttery spread that is soy, gluten, and trans-fat free. It's organic. It has 50% of the saturated fat that butter has. It has fewer calories than butter and has no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. And it's and excellent source of "good fat" (fats that our bodies burn as energy instead of storing as fat). It's a healthy form of butter!

Melt Organic is made with virgin coconut oil, flax seed oil, palm fruit oil, canola oil, and hi-oleic sunflower oil. I've been hearing so much about coconut oil lately, so I was especially excited to try a product containing it. And guess what? The coconut oil gives Melt Organic the tiniest coconut flavor. Which is a huge score in my book.

I knew I was going to bake with it. I mean, I'm me, right? The question was, what to make? And would it turn out okay?

I decided to give these Chocolate Malted Shortbread bars another go. I tried making them at Christmas and they were good, but didn't turn out quite right. I was determined to make them perfect!

 

I baked my shortbread in a 9" tart pan. The chocolate shortbread dough has Ovaltine in it. I know there was a malted baking craze awhile back, with everything calling for Malted Milk Powder, which my grocery store doesn't have. They do, however, carry Ovaltine, my favorite drink from childhood.

I cut the slices small, to be more like cookie wedges. But believe you me, after I was done with these photos I cut myself a nice large slice and at it like a wedge of pie. Because these are that good.

The Melt Organic performed exactly like butter. Maybe even better. The shortbread is soft and chewy and delicious. But, of course, if you can't find Melt Organic in your store (they don't sell it near me, but if you live in the Los Angeles area, you can find it there or you can buy it online) you can use actual butter. But it won't be as good for you and you'll feel guilty eating the entire tart. So, just warning you. :)

So try these bars. And, if you can, try Melt Organic. It's good. I can't wait to make cookies with it. And frosting. Jordan even likes it on her sandwiches, and if you've been reading long enough to know how she is, that's an amazing compliment.

Oh, and who can say no to Ovaltine and Whoppers? Not I.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Malted Shortbread

by Crazy for Crust (Adapted from Land o' Lakes...and yes I see the irony.)

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup Melt Organic Spread (or butter)
• ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 ounces (2 squares) semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
• ¼ cup Ovaltine powder
• 1 ¼ cups flour
• 5 oz box Whoppers (movie theatre size)
• ½ cup Chocolate Chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Mix butter and brown sugar on medium speed until creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the 2 ounces of melted chocolate and Ovaltine and beat until well mixed. Add flour and mix on low speed until the dough comes together; stir in chocolate chips.
3. Press mixture evenly into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press Whoppers randomly around the top of the dough. (You won’t use the whole box…do what you will with the leftovers…)
4. Place on a cookie sheet (in case of leakage) and bake about 20 minutes until the top starts to look a little cracked. Cool 10 minutes and then remove sides of pan. Cool completely on a cooling rack and then cut into wedges.

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Legal mumbo-jumbo: Melt Organic sent me two tubs of product to try for free. The info on the fats and benefits of Melt Organic came from their website and the Dr. Oz show. All opinions of the results I got with baking and how I liked Melt Organic are all my own, of course! For more info, check out their Facebook page or tweet them @meltspread #atlastgoodfat!




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