Thick, ooey, gooey Congo bars filled with melty chocolate are an easy classic cookie to whip up!
What are Congo bars?
Congo bars are similar to "blonde brownies," or "blondies." They are like chocolate chip bar cookies with brown sugar, and extra egg, and extra chocolate for ooey gooey greatness.
Typically, these blondies also have walnuts, but my kids are picky about such things.
Why are they called Congo Bars?
There are multiple theories why these are called Congo Bars, which have no direct association with Africa. One such theory is that the name refers to the same semi-mythical "Congo" that inspired the Congo Room in Vegas. Another theory is that mothers and grandmothers made the bars to send to their soldiers in Vietnam's Congo.
In the '80s, the US army developed chocolate bars that melted at a high temperature to send to soldiers as rations, dubbed the "Congo Bar." However, this post dates the popular lunch box favorite.
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TOOLS YOU'LL NEED FOR THE BLONDIES RECIPE
To make these bar cookies, you'll need a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. I usually recommend metal pans for cookies, but as I don't own a good metal pan this size, I used my handy glass baking dish.
Line your baking dish with parchment paper, lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
While our recipes provide both the metric and non-metric amounts, for best results, we recommend a digital scale.
I use an oven thermometer for accuracy. (This is how I know my oven runs 25 degrees cold.)
VARIATIONS for THE BARS
There are several ways to personalize this Congo Bars recipe.
- Stir in 1 to 2 cups of toasted coconut before baking.
- Instead of 2 cups of light brown sugar, try using 1 cup each of light and dark brown sugar.
- Here, I use semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips. Feel free to mix up the chocolate and try dark chocolate or even white chocolate chips.
- Stir in 1 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts when adding the chocolate chips.
STORING BAR COOKIES
Store your cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You may also store in the refrigerator to earn a couple extra days.
PRINTABLE RECIPE
Congo Bars
THE ULTIMATE chocolate chip CONGO BARS! Ooey, gooey blonde brownies recipe filled with semi-sweet and milk chocolate.
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (352 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, slightly softened (226 grams)
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar (416 grams)
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cups (4 ½ ounces) milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with lightly sprayed parchment paper.
- In a bowl, briefly whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in a standing mixer, cream the butter.
- Blend the brown sugar with the butter until fluff.
- Add the eggs, beating after each addition.
- Blend in the extract.
- Gradually blend in the flour mixture.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Transfer to the baking dish and spread evenly.
- Bake uncovered until golden brown and the middle just sets, 30 to 35 minutes.
- Let cool in baking dish (at room temperature or in the refrigerator) before cutting into squares.
Notes
Check the accuracy of your oven with an oven thermometer.
Store cookies in a sealed container for up to 5 days. (Extend to a week if refrigerated.)
Cookies are done when golden brown. Do not overbake. The middle may sink a little bit when cooling. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
VARIATIONS:
- Add 1 to 2 cups of toasted coconut before baking.
- Try mixing up the chocolate (such as with white chocolate or dark chocolate chips)
- Mix in 1 cup of chopped walnuts with the chocolate chips.
- Instead of 2 cups of light brown sugar, try 1 cup each of light and dark brown sugars.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 211Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 160mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 18gProtein: 3g
HowToMakeEasyCookies.com offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you use to create this recipe.
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