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If you like the idea of the chocolate chip bars I posted yesterday but don’t want the whole wheat, here’s an excellent big batch chocolate chip bar recipe from my friend Pat. Pat bakes these in a 15×10 inch pan, but you can also make half the recipe and use a 13×9 inch pan. The bars come out of the oven a little cakey, then settle into dense, firm-but-moist bars.
A Big Batch Chocolate Chip Bar Recipe
Chocolate chip bars made in a 15x10 inch pan
Servings: 32
Ingredients
- 8 oz regular salted butter softened
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour Spoon and level -- (15 oz) -- weigh if you have scale
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt optional
- 2 12 oz packages of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups 220 grams chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cream the butter and sugars, beat in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients and blend in. Add chips and nuts. Spread in a greased 15x 10 inch baking pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until bars appear set. Cool and cut into bars.
- For a half batch, use a 13x9 inch pan. My half batches always take about 20 minutes, but this will vary depending on your oven.
d
These were amazing! They only sunk a tiny bit. Nice and thick. Yummy! Thanks Anna.
Anna
Good luck! I think a lower and longer cooking time will help.
Kim
Thanks for the idea, Anna. When I had this problem the last time, I did check the temperature of my oven and it seemed about right, but I agree, the results I’m seeing are symptomatic of a hotter-than-I-want oven. I’ll try lowering the temp and see if that helps.
I do appreciate you taking the time to consider my dilemma and making the suggestion. 🙂
Anna
Kim, did you bake them in the same oven? Maybe the oven is running a little hotter. If the oven is too hot, the edges cook faster than the center. Maybe you could try reducing the heat by 25 degrees and cooking longer. Just don’t forget to stick a toothpick in the center to make sure they’re done.
Kim
Hello, I have made these cookies three times now. The firsts batch was absolutely perfect – great consistency and texture, baked all the way through and delicious. Since then, I’ve made them two more times, and each time the bar over flowed the sides of the pan and were underdone in the middle. I used the same pan, same brand ingredients, butter at the same temp (I always leave on counter for 2 hours), and same rack in oven. Any other ideas what could be causing this problem? Thank you!
Suzen
I made these today. They are good! One thing I really like about them is they cook evenly in the center and the edges. Some bars get too crisp on the edges and the middle remains underdone. Not these!
Sue
I wish I had one of these right now!
J3nn (Jenn's Menu and Lifestyle Blog)
These look delicious! My husband would love if I made these.
Helena
They look like huge chocolate chip cookies – love that!
Amy @ What Jew Wanna Eat
YUM- we always called these Congo Bars growing up. A favorite of mine at summer camp!
Louise
I get F&W magazine too, but this recipe looks a lot better to me. It’s just not right to put whole wheat flour in a chocolate chip bar. I might start thinking they are “health food” and then I’d eat more than one. If I do the math right, a half recipe would be perfect for my new 7×11 pan. 🙂
Adam
I’m not missing anything right this is pretty much a big cookie baked in a square pan :)? Not that there is anything wrong with that, I quite like the idea, makes it even easier than the giant cookie I baked since I don’t have to shape it :).
Lisa Ernst
Both of the bars you’ve posted look great, but this one looks a little more enticing to me, maybe a little moister and denser? Believe it or not, I’ve never made chocolate chip bars — always CCC’s. But a first time for everything….