'Spreads' Cookie Bars

How to bake quick & easy Cookie bars 

             Although, I like to challenge myself in the kitchen with a tad bit of time consuming, intricate and difficult recipes; there are times when I prefer to keep things quick & simple - so I can do a few more dishes, rather than slave over one item in the given amount of time. Recipes like this one from Ms. Ree Drummond -The Pioneer Woman, which was jotted down in my recipe diary; is just what I needed when company was coming over for a few days. That way, this batch of cookie bars will keep everyone will have something to snack on, anytime of the day; which gives me time to focus on other preparations :o) You can easily double or triple this recipe for a bigger event/crowd. Just dump, spread & bake the dough - it can't get easier than that. 

           These cookie bars are barely sweetened by the brown sugar, but the semi-sweet molten chocolate on the top takes the sweetness up a notch to balance it along with your favorite toppings. Even if you are making a small batch, you can have multiple toppings to suit your needs, like I did. My older one, wanted m&m's. My younger one is a 'sprinkles' fan & I fell in love with slices on snickers on top. These cookie bars, are quite soft, but the toppings you use; adds depth to its texture and can make the top layer - crunchy / nutty / chewy / sticky, as you like it.

               

Ingredients for about 50 cookie bars:

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 to 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Assorted toppings as desired: chopped nuts, colored sprinkles, mini marshmallows, chopped candy, caramel sauce

Baking Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Using an electric mixer, cream the butter in a large bowl, add brown sugar to it, & blend. Add the egg and mix together on low. Add the vanilla, salt and mix. Add the flour in two or three installments & blend on the lowest setting, until everything comes together. Your dough, is  now ready.

• Using a spatula, spread the dough onto a baking sheet to approx: 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness.

• Bake until slightly brown, 15 to 18 minutes. 
• At this point, pull the sheet out of the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the top. Return to the oven for 1 minute. Remove and spread the molten chocolate chips over the top, using a spatula to completely cover the top of the cookie bars.

• Sprinkle on the desired toppings, and then chill/refrigerate to set and cut into squares & serve.

Notes:

• Make sure the butter is at room temperature & soft, before you begin.
• The number of cookie bars you get, will depend on the size of your individual bars. The smaller bars = more number of bars; larger bars = fewer bars.

Sharing this easy recipe with my fellow bloggers at Sri Valli's CCChallenge.