When I was a kid, a trip to Dallas was always a big deal. We had cousins who lived down there and we’d head down for a long weekend of shopping or in the fall for the Red River Rivalry–the big football game between University of Oklahoma and University of Texas at the Cotton Bowl during the Texas State Fair. There were a couple of places we always shopped–Northpark Mall, eating dinner at El Fenix Mexican restaurant (where I drank my first beer!) on Friday then heading downtown to Neiman-Marcus Department Store for a full day. It TOOK all day to get through Neiman’s. And we had lunch there. There are many recipes from the original restaurant there but one of my favortes–which was a mid-afternoon snack break, were these dessert bars. I had the original recipe once upon a time (from the NM Cookbook) but then a friend shared this easy hack and darn if they didn’t taste just as good and are quick and easy so I’ve used it ever since.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Bake time: 65 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: Approximately 12
INGREDIENTS
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter, softened
3 eggs
1 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 16 oz box or 4 cups of confectioners sugar, sifted
INSTRUTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a 9×13 baking pan or Pyrex dish by spraying it with cooking spray. *An optional step to preparing your pan is to the pan with parchment paper, which usually takes two pieces so there’s a 2 inch overhang on each side. Still use the cooking spray on the parchment paper.
FIRST LAYER
Mix together dry cake mix, 1 stick of softened butter, and 1 egg until batter is a yellow play-doh consistency. Press this mix evenly into the bottom of prepared 9×13 pan.
SECOND LAYER
Sprinkle (and spread) chocolate chips evenly on top of the cake mix. Gently press the chips into the top.
THIRD LAYER
For the top layer, beat softened cream cheese, 2 eggs, and 1 tsp of vanilla until well combined. Continue beating and slowly add in 4 cups or 1 box of SIFTED confectioners sugar one large spoonful at time. Mix all these ingredients together until a smooth consistency forms, leaving very little to no lumps in the batter. To avoid lumps, make sure your cream cheese is soft and your confectioners sugar is sifted. Pour this smooth batter evenly over the chocolate chip layer.
Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes at 300 degree, adding additional baking time in 5 minute increments if the top layer is not fully risen. The edges should be golden brown, and the top layer should be even on top. Remove the bars from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan for one hour before serving. Once the bars are cool, cut them into approximately 3″ x 3″ squares.
TIPS
1. For slightly easier clean up, prepare the pan using parchment paper, which usually takes two pieces so there’s a 2 inch overhang on each side. Still use the cooking spray on the parchment paper.
2. While the original recipe did not contain nuts, if you’re like me, you’ll want to add some. Feel free to add cup of chopped nuts (I use pecans but walnuts or peanuts are tasty too). Mix the nuts with the chocolate chips before evenly spreading the mixture on top of the first layer, and press the mix gently into the batter.
I’m not the only one familiar with Neiman-Marcus. Our favorite FBI agent Sade Marquis of The Penumbra Papers series, shopped there often growing up as she lived in the Turtle Creek area of Dallas. Her dad would take her shopping and they’d stop in for these dessert bars and hot chocolate in the winter. She always dressed up to go because…Neiman-Marcus! There are a few stories of her childhood (which was actually most unconventional considering her godfather was the top vampire in the area and the Fae king had a habit of kidnapping her out from under Mathias’s nose. If you’d like to catch up on that part of her life, grab SEASON OF THE WITCH, which also explains how she met Sinjen. It’s available in digital and paperback. Just click on a pic showing the covr or title and head over to Books2Read to find the on-line bookseller of your choice. Trivia question: Besides being a luxury department store what holiday “item” was Neiman’s known for?
Silver James 
Never been to Dallas. Have walked by NM in NYC but never had the desire to go in. LOL
I have no clue what the NYC store was like. The one in Dallas was like a wonderland! And they did these cool “fortnight” promotions where they went “international” for two weeks. My favorite was the British Fornight. They had all sorts of English goods throughout the store. The restaurants were fab, there was a gourmet section (one of my dad’s favorite stops), and the clothes! I even got to try on a mink stole in the fur salon as a kid. The saleslady never even blinked. Getting to buy school clothes there was an awesome treat and I still have a “fur” coat with the NM label, a Christmas present when I was in high school–it’s a long-haired lamb/sheep thing that was very 60s. I swear I saw Michelle Phillips (The Mamas and The Papas) wearing one just like it in a phot! LOLOL The best thing, though, was the Christmas catalogue and their His-and-Her presents. Fun times and memories!