This post is for Liz, Roz and Jason - lover of Congo Bars.
I first discovered these brownie-cookie crosses when trawling the wonderful Bakerella's website. Apparently they are called Congo Bars...I don't know why. Either way, they are gorgeous, cakey, sticky, gooey goodness that feel like brownies but taste like cookies.
Best thing about them? They are dead easy to make. Okay, not the best thing about them. But it definitely helps.
The Recipe (the Bakerella website uses US cups, but I converted the measurements into grams for easier use).
300g plain flour
2.5 teaspoons of baking powder
Pinch of salt
150g softened butter
450g light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1 packet of semi-sweet chocolate chips
The Ingredients...
First, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, then set it aside for later. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Sift your brown sugar into a bowl and then add in the softened butter (I find it easier to mix it in if it is cut into cubes).
This much brown sugar and butter can only be a good thing. Trust me.
Using the back of a wooden spoon, incorporate the butter into the sugar. This can take a while, but hey - at least you get a bit of an upper-body workout before you stuff yourself silly with brownie-cookie-like goodness. Once it is all mixed together, it should be about the same texture as wet sand.
Pretty much like this. Wet sand.
Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, fully mixing them into the butter-sand mixture each time until you get a smooth batter.
Once all the eggs have been incorporated, add about half of the packet of chocolate chips. You could add any other 'fillings' you like - nuts, toffees (chopped up chewy toffees work really well), M&Ms, chocolate chunks...whatever takes your fancy.
After you've added your fillings of choice, add your sifted flour, baking powder and salt and stir until well combined. You should get a thick, sticky batter.
Delicious batter-goodness :)
Coat a baking tray with either a little bit of butter or cooking spray. You could also line it with greaseproof baking paper if you prefer. Spread the batter evenly into the dish.
Bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is an even golden-brown colour. Try not to over-bake the bars. If the batter doesn't seem to be cooked enough yet but the top is getting too brown, cover the top with aluminium foil and continue to bake. The mixture is ready when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Fresh from the oven.
After making these a couple of times, I've learnt that it is actually better to leave them to cool and fim up a bit before eating them. ...Of course, piggy over here was a little impatient and decided to cut and eat them pretty much straight from the oven, hence why they look a little 'wet' in the photo. Ooops.
I do hope you try these as they really are a delicious, so-bad-for-you-they're-good kind of treat. And easy to make. So easy.
I first discovered these brownie-cookie crosses when trawling the wonderful Bakerella's website. Apparently they are called Congo Bars...I don't know why. Either way, they are gorgeous, cakey, sticky, gooey goodness that feel like brownies but taste like cookies.
Best thing about them? They are dead easy to make. Okay, not the best thing about them. But it definitely helps.
The Recipe (the Bakerella website uses US cups, but I converted the measurements into grams for easier use).
300g plain flour
2.5 teaspoons of baking powder
Pinch of salt
150g softened butter
450g light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1 packet of semi-sweet chocolate chips
First, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, then set it aside for later. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Sift your brown sugar into a bowl and then add in the softened butter (I find it easier to mix it in if it is cut into cubes).
Using the back of a wooden spoon, incorporate the butter into the sugar. This can take a while, but hey - at least you get a bit of an upper-body workout before you stuff yourself silly with brownie-cookie-like goodness. Once it is all mixed together, it should be about the same texture as wet sand.
Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, fully mixing them into the butter-sand mixture each time until you get a smooth batter.
Once all the eggs have been incorporated, add about half of the packet of chocolate chips. You could add any other 'fillings' you like - nuts, toffees (chopped up chewy toffees work really well), M&Ms, chocolate chunks...whatever takes your fancy.
After you've added your fillings of choice, add your sifted flour, baking powder and salt and stir until well combined. You should get a thick, sticky batter.
Coat a baking tray with either a little bit of butter or cooking spray. You could also line it with greaseproof baking paper if you prefer. Spread the batter evenly into the dish.
Bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is an even golden-brown colour. Try not to over-bake the bars. If the batter doesn't seem to be cooked enough yet but the top is getting too brown, cover the top with aluminium foil and continue to bake. The mixture is ready when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
After making these a couple of times, I've learnt that it is actually better to leave them to cool and fim up a bit before eating them. ...Of course, piggy over here was a little impatient and decided to cut and eat them pretty much straight from the oven, hence why they look a little 'wet' in the photo. Ooops.
I do hope you try these as they really are a delicious, so-bad-for-you-they're-good kind of treat. And easy to make. So easy.
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