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Try these gooey congo bars with glass of milk and you’re in heaven.
Delicious Congo Bars
I can’t say enough how delicious these congo bars are.
Recently, someone in one of my cooking groups posted pics of these that they had just made and I wanted to dive into that photo!
The name is pretty curious since I doubt that they’re a popular cookie in the Congo. One day I’ll make it a point to find out–they may be popular there but I don’t know.
Regardless, these are some awesome bar cookies. They’re easy to make which is a definite plus for me.
Not A Typo
I know you looked twice at the amount of brown sugar in this recipe. Nope, it’s not a typo; there is that much brown sugar in these.
That’s what gives them that marvelous caramel-like flavor. Until I made these, I thought they were just another iteration of toll house bar cookies. They are, but then again, they are not.
The brown sugar also accounts for the chewiness of these cookies. That’s the first thing you notice at first bite. Then comes that blast of chocolate caramel flavor. It’s quite heady and very addictive.
Storage
How you store these cookies is very important.
They must be stored in a container that is as air-tight as possible. Otherwise they will dry out and won’t taste as good as they did the day they were baked. The flavor will suffer and that is something I discovered first hand with these.
However, warming them up a bit in the microwave will revitalize them considerably. I would recommend you do that even if your container is pretty sturdy. The chocolate chips will harden upon cooling and that does change the texture as well. Heating them up the next day will soften up the chocolate and make them much better.
The Recipe
Congo Bars
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 2 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
- Spray a 9 x 13-inch pan with non-stick spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment,beat the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each.
- Add the vanilla then slowly add the dry ingredients until mixed in but don't overmix.
- Fold in the chocolate chips by hand then spread the batter in the prepared pan evenly.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting bars into the size of your choice
