Double Delight Bars

When I came up with this recipe, I decided to combine two of the most beloved desserts that mothers bake for their kids--brownies and chocolate chip cookies.  I thought, "why can't we have them together!"  Both of these recipes have long been in the United States; in fact, both were created here.

Chocolate Chips cookies, or as we've come to refer to them as Toll House Cookies, were a creation of Ruth Wakefield in Massachusetts in the early twentieth century.  However, brownies date back to the 19th century when a chef at the Palmer House Hotel developed a recipe at the request of Bertha Palmer for the 1893 Colombian Exposition, held in Chicago.  From there, recipes for brownies started to show up in such cookbooks as Home Cookery in 1904, The Boston Cooking School Cook Book (by Fannie Merritt Farmer) in 1906, and Lowney's Cook Book in 1907.

I like a fudgy brownie, although my mother usually baked a more cake-like brownie.  Either way, it's chocolate and the requirement that Bertha Palmer asked of the chef is stilled fulfilled--"smaller than a piece of cake and easily packed in boxed lunches."

Double Delight Bars
Chocolate Chip Cookie Base:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup Mini Chocolate Chips


Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Spray a 9" x 13" pan with baking spray.  Set aside.
In the KitchenAid, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together until combined.  Add the vanilla extract and the egg and mix together well.  Add the flour and salt and beat until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  
Place the dough into the prepared pan.

  Use your finger to pat the dough to cover the bottom of the pan completely.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes--until lightly golden brown.

Set aside to cool a bit while you mix up the brownie layer.


Brownie:
4 large eggs
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups bittersweet chips (or use semi-sweet)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

In the KitchenAid, using the paddle attachment, beat the eggs well.  In the top of a double boiler, melt butter and chocolate chips together.  Cool a few minutes.  Add the sugar to the eggs and mix thoroughly.  Add the melted chocolate/butter mixture and beat again.  Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Pour mixture over the chocolate chip base.

Bake an additional 25 minutes--top should be shiny.

 Allow the bars to cool for approximately 1 hour before cutting.

You get 24-2" squares

Wouldn't this be a wonderful surprise for the children after school?  I know I always looked forward to special treats my mother had baked when I walked down the path towards our home from school.  They're the perfect size for some one-on-one time with Mom.  Enjoy!

Yum!