Chocolate Swoon Bars

I recently found out that my sister prefers bars as opposed to cookies. So, I decided to make these for her.

The recipe, as found on Dozen Flours, is quite interesting. You start off by making a sort of caramel with butter and brown sugar. It will be on the grainy side and will become a little stiffer as it reaches the right point. I can only imagine how delicious this alone would be crumbled on top of vanilla ice cream. But, I digress. You then add the rest of the ingredients, stir in a whole bag of chocolate chips, and bake. Then, after baking, you top the bars with another cup of chocolate chips because you can never have too much chocolate, right? Right.

The result is definitely swoon-worthy. They are rich, chocolatey, gooey, and slightly caramelly. Dozen Flours described it as a cookie crust with a layer of brownie, followed by another layer of cookie crust. I have no idea how the batter separates itself that way, but it works for me. I can only imagine how these would be if I swapped peanut butter chips for the chocolate chips on top. Oh, the possibilities.

Of course, the ultimate critics were my family. And the verdict was . . . they absolutely loved these bars. My sister even requested that I leave her the recipe so she can make them again. So, there you have it. This recipe gets four thumbs up. In my book, that's a keeper.

Chocolate Swoon Bars (adapted from Dozen Flours)

2 c. light brown sugar, packed
3/4 c. butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 (12 oz.) bag milk chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 9x13 pan and set aside.

In a medium sized saucepan, over medium heat, combine the brown sugar and butter together, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes very thick and starts to bubble. Once it starts to bubble, continue stirring constantly, scraping the sides and bottom of the pan for an additional three minutes. Do not increase the heat. (Note: you're not looking for a caramel here, but you want the mixture to almost be to the point where the sugar is dissolved, but not quite).

Remove the pan from the heat and continue to mix by hand for about 1 minute. Pour the hot mixture into a metal stand mixer bowl and mix on low speed for 3 min. Increase the speed to medium and mix for two minutes, stopping once a minute to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. By now the mixture should still be warm, but not molten.

Return the speed back to medium and slowly add the eggs and vanilla. Add a little at a time to avoid the egg scrambling. The batter should get very shiny and turn a pretty shade of light brown. Continue mixing until all the egg is incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.

Add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the milk chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Pour into the baking pan and bake 25-30 min., until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove it from the oven and scatter a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips on top. You may need to add more chocolate chips to fill in any bald areas. Let cool completely and cut into bars.