My guys went to a car wash this afternoon to raise money for summer camp. The car wash was set to last from9am-3pm, so I knew when they came home they’d be tired, maybe a bit sunburned, and hungry for a treat.

I had a lot of other projects going on today, so I didn’t necessarily want to spend a long time baking sheet after sheet of cookies, though I knew that’d be their favorite thing, along with a cold glass of milk.

I decided to come up with a a chocolate chip cookie bar that I could just spread into a pan and stick in the oven while I went about my business.

The recipe turned out great! I know it’s a little rich for some of you, though if you’re hungry for a treat, you could just cut into small squares and have one or two with a cold glass of fat free milk.  It’s a good sometimes treat, and they’re perfect for sharing.

Here’s the recipe:

Mama Steph’s Black & White Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars:

2 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

one and a half sticks of butter (or Smart Balance butter blend to add some healthy fat), melted and cooled for five minutes or so.

2 eggs

1 TBS vanilla extract

2/3 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet…the “black” part)

2/3 cup white chocolate chips (the “white” part)

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Line a 9×13 baking dish with a sheet of aluminum foil, allowing enough foil to hang over the edges for easy removal from the pan before cutting. Spray the foil with cooking spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt.

In large mixing bowl (if using a hand mixer) or the bowl of your stand mixer, mix the cooled butter with the two sugars until smooth.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract; mix well.

With blender on lower setting, gradually add the flour mixture. Do not overmix, or the bars may be tough.

When all flour is in and mixed into the liquid mixture, add the chips and mix for a few more seconds.

Spread batter into your prepared, lined baking dish. Use a spatula or batter spreader to press it smoothly into the pan.

Smooth the top.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.  Bars will be light brown on top, you’ll smell the amazing smell, and they’ll crack a bit around the edges when they are done.

You’ll be able to enjoy the decadence after they’ve cooled down a bit. 🙂

I like to remove the bars by holding the foil ends, lifting and placing on a big cutting board. I used a large serrated chef’s knife to cut into squares.

They got a huge thumb’s up from my family! I hope you’ll try them for your own hungry kids….or your hungry self.