Cookie Bars - Chocolate Chip 

Actually this is a master recipe for any number of cookie bar bases by leaving out the chocolate chips and freezing the dough plain then adding your toppings and eating them hot from the oven!

~DON'T FORGET THE PARCHMENT. THEY ARE SO GOOEY THAT YOU CANNOT TIP THEM OUT OF THE PAN.

~Half Recipe for ONE 9x13 pan
Stir:
8 oz unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 lb brown sugar
until consistently mixed but not whipped at all.

Stir in:
4 eggs
2 t vanilla
1 T (1 oz) molasses

Stir together:
1 1/2 t salt
10 oz (2 c) whole wheat pastry flour
Then gently stir into batter just until mixed.

Stir in:
2 1/2 c chocolate chips (1 lb)

With this completed batter it is good to let it hydrate overnight or a couple of days in the fridge. The flavor deepens and matures and they get a lovely golden-brown color when baked after they've hydrated. Even if you don't have overnight, mix in morning and let it sit on the counter a few hours.

~Don't forget to put raw nuts on top just before baking. They roast beautifully as the cookies bake - way better than putting them inside.

To bake them all at once:
Spread into 1 aluminum 9x13 cake pan lined with parchment. Bake at convection BAKE (it will blow the batter if the fan is too high) 300* 25-35 minutes until temp is barely 190*. Do not overbake, they are good a little gooey. Leave the middle quite soft - but do make sure it is set. Finish them at a lower temp, even, so you get the texture just right. It may take 20 minutes to finish them as you check and wait.
~TWO 9x13 pans
In mixer with dough hook, stir:
1 lb unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 lbs brown sugar
until consistently mixed but not whipped at all.

Stir in:
8 eggs
1 T vanilla
2 T (2 oz) molasses

Stir together:
level 1 T salt
20 oz (4 c) whole wheat pastry flour
Then gently stir into batter just until mixed.

Stir in:
5 c chocolate chips (2 lb)

With this completed batter it is good to let it hydrate overnight or a couple of days in the fridge. The flavor deepens and matures and they get a lovely golden-brown color when baked after they've hydrated. Even if you don't have overnight, mix in morning and let it sit on the counter a few hours.

~Don't forget to put raw nuts on top just before baking. They roast beautifully as the cookies bake - way better than putting them inside.

To bake them all at once:
Spread into 2 aluminum 9x13 cake pans lined with parchment. Bake at convection BAKE (it will blow the batter if the fan is too high) 300* 25-35 minutes until temp is 190*-200* and set in the middle. Do not overbake, they are good a little gooey. Leave the middle quite soft - but do make sure it is set. Finish them at a lower temp, even, so you get the texture just right. It may take 20 minutes to finish them as you check and wait.

Or freeze dough in smaller quantities (7-8 oz dough in parchment covered custard cups). Bake in a cast iron skillet right from frozen for a warm luscious treat without the commitment to too many cookie bars at one time!

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