Chocolate Chip Bars

Here’s an old recipe that cropped up again at a recent summer gathering. After the hot dogs and hamburgers, out came the homemade ice cream, blackberry cobbler, and a pan of chocolate chip bars that were reminiscent of childhood.

“It’s a chocolate chip cookie in a bar,” said my friend. She went on to tell me how the recipe used to be called “Congo Bars,” perhaps because of the fresh ingredients that often went into them—pure chocolate, nuts, and coconut.

Now, I remember my mother making what she called a “shortcut” to chocolate chip cookies—after all, who has time to do sheet after sheet of cookies when you can slide them in and bake them all at once? But in all these years I didn’t think of doing it. And why not? They are the perfect bar cookie and great to take along to potlucks and family parties.

So, I checked for the recipe and compared several online to what my friend described, and came up with a combo recipe that may make some of your summertime baking just a little easier.