Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8-inch square metal pan with non-stick foil or parchment paper or skip this altogether and have fun prying the bars from the pan.

Thoroughly stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Melt the butter in the microwave. If you have a microwave-safe mixing bowl, even better! Combine brown sugar and melted butter and stir well. Stir in the egg and vanilla and beat 15 strokes with a mixing spoon.

Add flour mixture to sugar mixture and stir just until mixed. Mixture will still be very warm so let it cool for 5 minutes. Stir in chips.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and bars appear set (edges will be brown).

Let cool for about 20 minutes. Lift from pan and slice into 16 bars

Note: These bars are fairly sweet, so you may want to eliminate the chips altogether. I like chips, so I add them. If you are using a sweet chip such as butterscotch or cinnamon, you might want to use ¼ cup, but if you are using a dark chocolate type chip, go for the higher amount. Nuts are a good add-in too.