Name: French Silk Pie Bars
Yield: Makes 12 large or 24 small bars
Ingredients: 8 Tbsp. (1 stick or 113 g) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces; 1½ cups (213 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting; 1 tbsp. granulated sugar; ½ tsp. salt; 7 oz (200 g) bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled; 4 large eggs, at room temperature; ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar; ¼ cup (50 g) packed brown sugar; ¼ tsp. salt; 3 Tbsp. water, at room temperature; 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract; 8 Tbsp. (1 stick or 113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 8 pieces; ½ cup (120 g) heavy cream; 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese, at room temperature; 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar; 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract; Pinch salt; 2 cups (480 g) heavy cream; 1 recipe Pie Dough Base, fully baked and cooled; Chocolate shavings, for decorating (optional)

French silk pie bars on parchment paper.

Photo by Sarah Kieffer

If my grandma were alive today, I would make her these French Silk Pie Bars for her birthday, no questions asked. She was a chocolate fiend and always looked for an excuse to eat some. I spent many mornings bringing her iced mochas and chocolate-covered doughnuts when she was no longer able to get out and about herself; we would sit on lawn chairs in her front yard when the weather was nice, chatting and enjoying our sugar high. I know she would have appreciated the flaky crust, the creamy chocolate filling, and the mound of whipped cream gracing the top of these bars.

This recipe was excerpted from '100 Cookies' by Sarah Kieffer. Buy the full book on Amazon. Bake more of our favorite Sarah Kieffer recipes →