Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Even though they may not be fancy and can be somewhat boring, chocolate chip cookies are still one of my favorite things. In my household, I'm lucky if all the dough makes it into cookie form. When I saw a post on Bakerella for these, I simply had to make them.

Bakerella called these "brookies -a cookie and a brownie". They are also called "Congo Bars". I have never heard that term before, but whatever these are called, you can bet they are delicious. When I made them, I mixed the batter by hand, as I (and Bakerella) believe that it results in more of a brownie like texture. I mean, think about it, you don't really use a mixer to mix brownie batter do you? Well, I don't. I use good ole fashioned elbow grease. I also lined the pan with parchment paper with excess coming out over the sides so they could be easily pulled out of the pan so I could cut them evenly.

I made these to take to the in-laws for a Sunday dinner. I ended up taking only half the pan because my husband ate most of them, but in his defense, they are pretty crazy good!

Recipe from Bakerella

Congo Bars
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 lb. light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
11.5 ounce package milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Set aside. Stir brown sugar into softened (not melted) butter in another large bowl until butter disappears. You can use the back of your spoon to help incorporate the two together. Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture and stir well after each egg. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts. Mix well. Add dry flour mixture and stir until well combined.

Coat a 13 X 9 pan with non-stick spray and spread batter evenly into dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Make sure you don’t over bake. If the bars aren’t done at 30 minutes and the tops feel like they are getting too brown, then place a sheet of aluminum foil on top and bake a little longer. Use a toothpick to insert and check for doneness before removing from the oven.

from: http://www.bakefrostrepeat.com/2010/06/chocolate-chip-cookie-bars.html