Chocolate Blood Orange Bars

Well, you  win some and you lose some. I almost didn't put this recipe on here, but it was just b/c the form wasn't what I wanted...but they taste so good I had to. Last night I had the idea to make an orange bar instead of lemon bars. Rather than use a graham cracker crust, I made a chocolate graham cracker crust. Sounds pretty good right? It does taste good...really good, but let's just say it's a mystery how it turned out. 

I've always been fascinated with blood oranges. One b/c they're oddly a dark red, and two b/c the name kind of scares me. Well the name might have put a curse on these bars, but you'll have to find out for yourselves. 

This was my crust; it was absolutely perfect.

My added ingredients.

The finished product! It looks pretty doesn't it...just wait until it's cut open.

Here's a square.

...and the inside. 

Now if you recall, I used a chocolate crust...and the crust/bottom of this is clearly not chocolate. What happened? Who knows...it's a mystery, but I think it's kind of cool actually. The only bad thing about these bars was that they are very goey, but all you have to do is chill them overnight and they set up perfectly. This could be for a number of reasons: I would add more flour than just the 1/4 cup I got from one recipe, the glass pan wasn't the best choice to cook them in, and they needed to set in the refrigerator longer. B/c I  got impatient and wanted to see what they looked like, I only let them chill for 30 min. 

I'm hoping that by tom. they'll set up some more, but oh my goodness they taste so good. It's like eating an orange truffle in a gooey mess of goodness. If any of you have any suggestions for this, let me know. They are definitely best served cold and chilled.

Ok so confession time: I have to come out of the closet and admit that I like my brownies and bars a little gooey...a lot gooey, so of course I loved these when they first came out. Then the next day I loved them even more when when were cold and had hardened a bit. The orange and chocolate are completely blended together--one doesn't overpower the other. Feel free to leave any comments on my creative endeavor. But point being: if you like your bars on the fudgier side, follow my instructions and let them chill. If you like them to be a little cakier, add more flour and reduce the amount of eggs. Either way they definitely are a must to make.

Ingredients

Crust

1 & 1/2 cups chocolate graham crackers, crushed finely

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa, sifted

5 tbsp. butter, melted

Combine all ingredients and press firmly into a 9 x 11 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 min.

Filling

4 eggs, beaten

2/3 cup blood orange juice (about 3 medium-sized oranges)

1 & 1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. orange extract (optional)

1 tsp. orange rind

1/2 bar of dark chocolate, broken into little pieces (optional)

Combine beaten eggs and sugar until smooth. Add orange juice until well blended; add orange extract and orange rind. Add in dark chocolate pieces and pour over graham cracker crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 min. Chill in refrigerator or let set and serve at room temperature.