Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Last week Abby had her tonsils and adnoids out. It really has been alot tougher than I thought it would be. She has lost over 5 lbs and still isn't eating and the fever came back yesterday. Do you know how hard it is to get a 9 year old to eat nothing but soft things, when the said 9 year old doesn't really like jello, ice cream, pudding? Let me just say that she is growing tired of mashed potatoes.

Last night while we were talking about what she wanted to eat, she said that she was craving a warm, chewy chocolate chip cookie. I then remembered these bars that I had bookmarked from Donna of My Tasty Treasures. I thought maybe the edges of the cookies would be hard on her, and the bars would be a little easier. I still don't know the verdict of that yet, because the craving left her as soon as it came to her.

I did have to modify a couple of things...I didn't have any brown sugar, so I googled the substitute for it and you can mix 1 cup sugar with 2 Tbsp of molasses, I had some left from my gingerbread at Christmas, and you know what?? You can't tell a difference in the taste. My bars came out just a little bit dark from it..but no change in the taste. The recipe calls for 2 cups of chocolate chips, I had a cup of mixed peanut butter and chocolate chips, so I threw them in with some chopped up semi sweet chocolate and a bar of my dark chocolate that Beth sent me. Worked out perfectly! And with not having to wait for you butter to soften, you just melt and mix...go ahead and make some for yourself.

Chocolate Chip Bars
From: My Tasty Treasures

2 ⅛ cups (10 ½ ounces) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons butter (1 ½ sticks), melted and cooled slightly
1 cup (7 ounces) light brown sugar
½ (3 ½ ounces) cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position. Line a 9X13-inch baking pan with foil, letting the excess hang over the edges of the pan by about 1 inch so you can grab those edges and pull the brownies from the pan after they have baked. Spray the foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside. Whisk the melted butter and sugars in a large bowl until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined; do not over mix. Fold in the chocolate chips and turn the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula.

Bake until the top of the bars is light golden brown, slightly firm to the touch, and edges start pulling away from sides of pan, 24–28 minutes. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Remove the bars from the pan by lifting the foil overhang and transfer them to a cutting board. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.