Anna Olson is back with another cookbook full of wonderful tips, tricks and recipes. Anna Olson’s Baking Wisdom, which is available now, features everything you need to know to become a better baker, plus it includes over 150 recipes. These Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars come straight from Anna’s new book and are absolutely delicious! Read on to hear why Anna thinks baking is so meaningful to so many people and why she loves this recipe, in her own words.
Excerpted from Anna Olson’s Baking Wisdom: The Complete Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Make You a Better Baker (with 150+ Recipes) by Anna Olson. Copyright © 2023 Olson Food Concepts Inc. Photography by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Anna Olson shares her Baking Wisdom
“I think baking is important to so many because of the sense of sharing that is created by an activities that also generates a sense of personal joy and a feeling of accomplishment. These Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are perfect for new bakers because only basic tools are needed but it is just as fulfilling for an expect baker to make – super quick! Plus you can also customize it to suit your tastes by adding nuts, white chocolate, dried cranberries, or whatever you like! I wanted to offer a take on my well-known chocolate chip cookies, but give them a polished look yet keep them easy to make. My signature addition of a little cornstarch to the batter that defines my chocolate chip cookie recipe also makes its way into this one, to keep the centre of these bars chewy and soft.
I bake so often that I often choose my recipes based what I feel like making, not necessarily what I feel like eating. But now and again, I do get a chocolate chip cookie or bar craving, so that is when I like to whip up a batch of these chewy chocolate chip cookie bars. This is an anytime treat for me, or when I want to make something to share with neighbours or bring to a get-together, especially when there are kids.”
ingredients
directions
Cornstarch is the secret to the chewy centre of my signature chocolate chip cookies, and it also keeps these bars nice and chewy.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper so that the paper comes up the sides.
Combine the butter and sugar. Whisk the melted butter with the brown and granulated sugars. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla.
Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt and stir until evenly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread to level it.
Bake the square for about 30 minutes, until it starts to rise at the edges. Cool in the pan on a rack, then use the parchment paper to lift the square out of the pan and cut into squares.
The bars will keep, well wrapped, in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
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