Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

I have missed you, so I baked something yummy for you.

I can tell it’s been a while since I have been baking because I have a lot of butter and eggs in my kitchen! The husband asked me over the weekend why we had four dozen eggs in the refrigerator. Oops! It’s been a little crazy around here with my older son on Spring Break and the start of lacrosse season for both my boys. There has been lots of running around and preparing quick, late night meals.

Well, since the kitchen is stocked with all the baking essentials, I am ready for Sous Chef to come home this week! I am so excited to see her; it has been too long. I know that there will be lots of kitchen activity while she is on Spring Break, so in order to get back in my baking groove, I made these chocolate chip cookie bars.

What I love about cookie bars is that you mix up the ingredients and put it all in one pan…and voila you have a delicious dessert. While cookies are almost always worth the effort of hanging around the kitchen to make dozens of little bite-sized delights, my schedule this week only allowed for a quick mixing and one pan baking. Bake these up for your family, but don’t tell them how ridiculously easy it was! The brown sugar and butter really stand out in this treat, you will love these! This recipe is adapted from a 2006 recipe in Cook’s Illustrated: Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ sticks unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips, any variety

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil; allow excess to overhang edges. Melt butter at a low temperature in a saucepan and set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

Whisk butter and sugars in a large bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Next, fold dry ingredients into egg mixture until just combined. Fold in chips and spoon batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until top is a light golden brown and bounces back slightly when pressed. Cool on a wire rack. Remove bars from pan by lifting foil overhang and transfer to cutting board. Makes about 2 dozen cookie bars depending on how big you slice them.