Putting “heavenly” in a recipe name is a little bit bold — it implies that the food in question is so good that it’s a transcendental experience. So naturally, when I saw the name “Heavenly Squares” on this old recipe card, I was very excited to try them. A dessert bar with distinct layered components, it was sure to be delicious, but would it be divine? I couldn’t wait to find out.

This card came to me through the Recipe Tin Project, which is a project where I cook my way through an old recipe tin full of vintage recipes. But you might have already guessed that. It’s chock full of old recipe cards, most of which seem to be from the ’60s and ’70s, though some are older. I love food history, and the idea is to breathe new life into these recipes from the past and maybe learn a technique or two from them along the way. The recipes come from different people with different handwriting; some have sweet illustrations while others are on plain (often smudged and stained) index cards.

This card is a plain unlined index card, written in casual cursive with blue ink. The edges are a tad dog-eared and there are some stains and smudges here and there, which is always a good sign — it means the card has seen some use.

The back was seemingly used as scratch paper, with some addresses and phone numbers scrawled across it in different directions. (I won’t include a picture of that since we don’t want to be broadcasting personal addresses on the internet, even if they’re decades old.)

The front has all the ingredients and amounts (not all cards do!) but the instructions are pretty minimal. I’ve made them more thorough in the recipe down below so it’s easier to follow.

What Ingredients Do You Need for Heavenly Squares?

The card calls for:

• Graham cracker crumbs.
• Baking basics like: butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla.
• Flaked coconut.
• Chopped walnuts.
• Chocolate chips.

How Do You Make Heavenly Squares?

Great question. The instructions are pretty minimal, so this card assumes you can figure out some basics on your own.

To start, you beat together the butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla, then stir in the graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and walnuts. This forms a thick dough, which you press into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Easy enough.

That bakes for about 15 minutes and then the instructions say to “spread with frosting and top with chocolate.” Luckily, I’ve made frosting a time or two. The card calls for butter, powdered sugar, and a splash of milk, so this is a very simple frosting and all you need to do is beat the ingredients together until they’re smooth and fluffy. I would suggest waiting until the baked layer is cool before trying to spread that frosting on.

The chocolate layer is where I ran into some issues. The card calls for chocolate chips melted with butter to be spread upon the frosting layer. Mine came out too thick to spread and I had issues with it seizing up. When melting chocolate chips, it’s best to melt the chocolate, then stir in the butter to keep it from seizing. Even so, I found it too thick to spread and ended up making a quick ganache instead to even the chocolate layer out.

The End Result?

They are pretty heavenly. They are rich. Even though I cut them into small squares, that tiny size was more than enough. You could probably get 24 servings out of these if you wanted!

The bottom layer has texture but is still buttery and chewy, while the frosting layer brings in creamy sweetness. My version was probably extra indulgent thanks to the ganache, but the top layer of chocolate adds a nice fudginess to top it all off. Basically, they have everything you could want in a dessert bar. Divine? I think so.