Friday, April 22, 2011

Congo Squares


I know, you were expecting something a little more exotic.  These look like "Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake".  Exactly!  Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake was a favorite from my childhood.  Somehow it was so much better than just plain chocolate chip cookies.  For me it's the thickness; the chewiness.  But who would have thought Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake could be so difficult to make??  If you simply follow a chocolate chip cookie recipe, you're taking a risk.  I don't know how many times I've made it, and had the entire thing fall to a thin, greasy mess.

So I began to search for the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake recipe.  I tired a few that worked out better than the original cookie recipe.  Then my husband bought me the Williams-Sonoma Desserts cookbook.  And under the title "Congo Squares" was a picture of the perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake!  Now, if I am being honest, these are really more like blondies.  But that's what makes them so perfect!  The thick, chewy texture and rich sweetness from the dark brown sugar (which, actually I didn't use in the batch that I photographed, but you should, they are better that way!) is exactly what I was looking for in Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake.  I've made it many times, and it's never failed me.  Thank you, Congo Squares.  Who knew?

Congo Squares
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3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
2 1/3 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 /2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 extra-large eggs2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips ( I like mini)



Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Place butter and sugar in large bowl of an electric mixer.  Mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.  While it is mixing, combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.  Add eggs, one at a time, to the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in vanilla.

With mixer on low speed, beat in the flour mixture.  Fold in chocolate chips, and scrape into prepared pan with a rubber spatula.  Smooth top with spatula.

Bake until top looks dry, 40-45 minutes.  Cool before cutting.

Yield: the book says 4 dozen.  I'm pretty sure I cut mine larger than that.  Let's go with 3 dozen :)
Source: Williams-Sonoma Desserts

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