Congo Bars (Blondies)
These Congo Bars (aka Blondies) are soft, decadent, and chewy in the center with ooey gooey chocolate strewn throughout. When your sweet tooth needs some satisfaction, it doesn’t get better than this.
The day I made these Congo Bars, it was for an outdoor social we planned to have with friends at the beach. Along with my Radio Flyer red wagon and tons of other loot, we set out to enjoy a long afternoon picnic.
Except that it suddenly rained. Right when the bunch of us were setting up all the goods. The wind was like 25 mph. I shouldn’t have fixed my hair that morning.
So we packed up our stuff and brought the party back to our house instead. I’m getting way better at this Minnesota weather thing. Must. Have. Plan. B.
The Congo Bars held up through sun, rain, wind, and back home again. These are some tough cookies. But not really.
These golden bars are the epitome of chewy. Abundant chocolate in the middle ensures they are ooey gooey, soft and chewy especially when they’re just slightly warm. You can see and almost taste it…
Naturally, these Congo Bars are a crowd pleaser because they are basically a buttery, golden, chewy chocolate chip cookie in chunky square form. Who doesn’t like that?
There are only a handful of ingredients that go into these decadent Congo Bars, and the fact that they’re baked in a pan makes it all the less work for you.
You probably have all the ingredients on hand as we speak.
Napkins = optional. Cold glass of milk = recommended. A big smile with melted chocolate stuck on front teeth = required.
Did you make this?
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Congo Bars (Blondies)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
- 11 TB salted butter, softened just to room temp (not melty)
- 3 large eggs, whisked
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp table salt
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F, with rack on lower middle position. Grease and flour a 13x9 pan and set aside.
- In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and stir until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using rubber spatula, fold butter mixture with flour mixture just until incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Press dough into prepared pan, using spatula to even out the surface. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or just until top is lightly browned. It should look puffy, soft, and golden. Center will still be soft.
- Cool bars completely. Cut into squares. Store leftovers in airtight container at room temp.
Nutrition (per serving)
Source: Chew Out Loud, adapted from i heart nap time
If you’re craving cookies, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s start with our famous Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies, soft batch style.
These are our favorite Bakery Style Big and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
My personal favorite is the White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookie. Loaded with white chocolate and chewy soft.
