Triple Vanilla Bean Bars

These Triple Vanilla Bean Bars are sweet, rich and delicious. A little chocolate added on top is totally optional.

When faced with the ‘chocolate or vanilla’ dilemma, it’s never a dilemma for me. Chocolate doesn’t do wonders for my skin and I can’t handle the caffeine very well. Don’t get me wrong… I buy chocolate, I blog about chocolate, and I even eat it and enjoy it. But vanilla is most definitely the preferred choice for me. Is anyone with me?

That’s why these triple vanilla bean bars appeal to me. And I think you’ll love them as much as I do, even if you’re a chocolate lover!

Ingredients needed:

• salted butter
• vanilla baking chips
• all purpose flour
• white sugar
• vanilla extract
• salt
• eggs
• vanilla bean
• powdered sugar
• milk or cream

Can I leave out the vanilla bean in this recipe?

Yes! Vanilla beans can be expensive. I find that they are cheaper to order online or buy at Costco. But if you don’t wish to buy a vanilla bean, it’s okay to leave it out of the recipe and create double vanilla bars instead.

How do you make Triple Vanilla Bean Bars?

The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post. You will need either an 11×7-inch or 9×9-inch pan for this recipe. 

Grease and flour your pan of choice. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a saucepan, heat the butter and baking chips together until melted and smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in flour, sugar, vanilla, salt, eggs and a scraped vanilla bean. Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 30 minutes.

Let the vanilla bars cool. Then invert the pan onto a cutting board. The whole slab of bars should slide out nicely.

Prepare the vanilla icing, and then spread it on top of the bars. The decorative chocolate on top is totally optional. Instructions for adding the chocolate are in the recipe below.

I prefer to cut the edges off of my big slab of bars before cutting them into nicely shaped squares. Then you have a bunch of delicious scraps to eat!

It is much easier to cut clean squares when bars and brownies are chilled. Use a long, sharp, thin knife, and wipe it with a paper towel after each cut.

You’ll want to keep these refrigerated until ready to serve. Store them in a single layer in a covered container. They’ll keep for a few days. You can also freeze the bars for up to two months.

These bars are great for a party! You’ll get 25 bars out of this batch. So they’ll make for a nice display on a treat table. People like to have dessert choices that aren’t chocolate! I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true. These vanilla bean bars are delicious. Enjoy!

What are the best vanilla dessert recipes?

• Vanilla Pound Cake
• Vanilla Panna Cotta
• Best Vanilla Cake
• Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
• Vanilla Cut Out Cookies

5 from 2 votes

Triple Vanilla Bean Bars

By RecipeGirl.com (shared from Betty Crocker)

These delicious vanilla bars are rich and wonderful!

Prep: 35 minutes mins

Cook: 30 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings: 25 bars

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Ingredients

BARS:

• ▢ ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
• ▢ 10 ounces (1⅔ cups) white vanilla baking chips
• ▢ 1¼ cups all purpose flour
• ▢ ¾ cup granulated white sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 3 large eggs
• ▢ ½ whole vanilla bean, scraped

ICING:

• ▢ 1½ cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 3 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 to 2 tablespoons milk or cream
• ▢ chocolate chips + shortening (for drizzle on top, optional... see NOTES below)

Instructions 

MAKE THE BARS:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour an 11x7-inch pan (You can use a 9x9-inch pan, but the baking time will be longer).
• In a 2-quart saucepan, heat the butter and baking chips over low heat, stirring frequently, just until melted and smooth (the mixture may appear curdled). Remove from heat; cool.
• Stir in the remaining bar ingredients until well blended. Spread evenly in the pan.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
• Run a knife around the edge of the pan. The whole thing should pop out of the pan pretty easily- pop onto a cutting board and carefully turn upright.

ADD THE ICING:

• In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine all of the glaze ingredients (start with 1 tablespoon of the milk, and add more as needed) until smooth and spreadable. Spread the icing over the bars. Let cool. (optional: drizzle chocolate patterns on top if you'd like.) Let cool completely before cutting. They'll cut into neater squares if the bars have been chilled for a while.

Notes

• *If you'd like to add a chocolate drizzle, melt about 1/2 cup chocolate chips with about 1 teaspoon of shortening. Microwave and stir until smooth. Pour into a small zip top baggie, snip the end and drizzle away into your desired pattern.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar, Calories: 191kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 39mg, Sodium: 88mg, Potassium: 50mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 20g, Vitamin A: 197IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 29mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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