I made these for an event at my oldest daughter’s camp. It’s so convenient that you can bake these in a pan and then cut them!
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (~from King Arthur Flour)
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (10 2/3 tablespoons, 152g) unsalted butter
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons (454g) firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon butterscotch flavor or vanilla-butternut flavor, optional
- 3 large eggs
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
- 2 3/4 cups (326g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or 2 3/4 cups (312g) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
- 3 cups (510g) chocolate chips, or a combination of different flavored chips, or chips and nuts (used 3 cups of white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, and dark chocolate chips)
Instructions
1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x
13" pan.
2.
Melt the butter, and stir in the brown sugar. Add the
salt, vanilla, and flavor, stirring until well combined.
3.
Allow the mixture to cool slightly (if it's very hot
to the touch), then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each
addition. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl midway through this
process.
4.
Add the baking powder, espresso powder, and flour,
stirring to combine.
5.
Stir in the chips or other additions of your choice.
6.
Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it
to the edges with a wet spatula (or your wet fingers). Smooth the top as best
you can.
7.
Bake the bars for 30 to 32 minutes, until they've
risen, and their top is shiny and golden. Bake for the shorter amount of time
in a darker pan; the longer time in a light/shiny pan. A cake tester inserted
into the center won't come out clean; in fact, the center of the very middle of
the pan may look quite molten when you dig into it. But so long as no wet
batter is showing farther out towards the edges, the bars are done. As they
cool, the center will solidify.
8.
Remove the bars from the oven, and use a heatproof
spatula to press down the risen edges; this will make bars with flat, rather
than humped tops. Let the bars cool completely before cutting; overnight is
best. Once bars are cool, wrap airtight. Store wrapped bars at room temperature
for a couple of days.
Tips from our Bakers
- For old-fashioned "congo bars," use a mixture of your favorite flavored chips: chocolate, white chocolate, cinnamon, cappuccino, butterscotch, etc.; plus chopped walnuts or pecans.
- These bars are very moist indeed just after you've removed them from the oven. You might think they're underbaked; that would be true, if you were going to eat them right away. But letting them cool completely (overnight is best) leaves them with wonderfully chewy, moist texture; if you baked them completely through initially, their final texture would be much drier.
- To regain that delicious just-baked, melty chocolate freshness, reheat individual bars in the microwave very briefly, just until warm.
- To make a
crowd-sized batch of these bars:
16 tablespoons (1 cup) butter (8 ounces, 228g)
3 cups + 3 tablespoons brown sugar (24 ounces, 681g)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/8 teaspoon butterscotch or vanilla-butternut flavor, optional
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon + 3/8 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
4 cups + 2 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (17 1/4 ounces, 489g)
4 1/2 cups chocolate chips (27 ounces, 765g)
Mix everything as directed above. Spread the batter into a half-sheet pan (approximately 13" x 18" outside dimensions). Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 32 to 34 minutes, or until the bars test done as described in the directions above.
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