Kara came to town! Yay! If you all are wondering, Kara is my sister and she’s super cool (sometimes). She has quite the sweet tooth so I had to whip her up something extra special yesterday for her arrival. We celebrated with roasted chicken and carrots, but the dessert was the best part. So great in fact, that we ate it BEFORE dinner. I’m not going to apologize for such actions. We decided to keep it sweet and simple and make some delicious chocolate chip cookie bars. Chocolate chip cookies are always a great go-to when you aren’t sure what else to make. Everyone loves them and if you don’t, well that’s just weird, but anyway, we jazzed them up with brown butter, which is totally my go-to right now for cookies and sprinkled them with salt. In my eyes, this is the perfect dessert; and I think Kara and Zach approved as well.
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We are keeping things super simple and sweet today because it’s a busy day and we have a TON to do, so I apologize for the quickness of this post.
I hope the pretty pictures will make up for it. =)
It’s hard to pair cookies with beer. Let’s be honest, you usually want a glass of milk or a cup of coffee with a cookie. If I had to pick any beer I would choose Avery’s Out of Sight as the pairing. This is a delicious stout brewed with coffee..Coffee..Cookies..You get the picture. I hope. Since it is impossible to get Out of Sight unless you are at the brewery when they tap it (they do not bottle it), then it’s kind of hard to pair with this delicious brew. Instead, we are going to go with Avery’s Out of Bounds, which you can totally pick up at your local bottle shop. It’s such a classic stout pumped full of flavor. It’s a must try and the perfect pairing.
So I’m leaving it at that today. I know I know. I’m such a slacker, but I do hope everyone enjoys their Friday and has a great weekend! Tomorrow we are making up a Slider (as in burgers) Bar and I am super excited to share these recipes with all of you. That post will be up Sunday, so get excited! … and if not, then just pretend to be excited =).
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Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
- coarse sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and spray a 9x13in baking dish with a non-stick baking spray or line the baking dish with parchment and then spray. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. You will brown your butter. Continue to swirl the butter with a wooden spoon until the butter begins to brown slightly and a nutty aroma fills the air. REMOVE THE BUTTER IMMEDIATELY at this point and transfer to a large bowl to cool.
- Once cool, transfer the butter to the bowl of your stand mixer and add the dark brown sugar and sugar. Cream the ingredients together. One at a time add the eggs and mix until each is incorporated. Next add the milk and the vanilla extract. Mix until completely smooth.
- Now in 1/2 cup increments add the dry mixture to the wet, mixing completely after each installment has been added. If you find the mixture is TOO dry after you have mixed all of the flour mixture in, then add a tablespoon or two more of milk until you reach a more dough like consistency. If you find the mixture to be too wet, then add more flour, a tablespoon at a time. Gently fold in the chocolate chips until mixed thoroughly and then transfer the cookie dough to your prepared dish. Press the dough down with your finger tips, pressing so that it reaches the edges and is a uniform height. Sprinkle the bars with coarse sea salt.
- Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes or until the edges begin to brown slightly and the top is firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool on a drying rack before serving.
Notes
Hardware: * 9x13in Baking Dish * Non-Stick Baking Spray * Parchment Paper * Bowls * Whisk * Wooden Spoons * Rubber Spatula * Stand Mixer (or handheld mixer is fine) * Wire Rack *
