I am always scouring the internet, cookbooks, magazines and so on for recipes of all kinds. Desserts, however, are my weakness. I have tons of recipes marked and saved to make but I must say my dessert “to makes” way outnumber all of the others. There is just something about sweets, they are my weakness and I look for any excuse to try out one of my many saved recipes. One of the latest recipes I came across were for these Congo Bars from the curvy carrot, when I saw these they moved to the top of my list of things to make. They include all of the flavors I love, but I mean how could you go wrong with butter, sugar, and chocolate? Who doesn’t love all of those things, and they just get even better when they are put together!
I love all things sweet, but bars are kind of becoming an addiction of mine. I don’t know what it is about them, but I just LOVE everything about dessert bars. Bars are increadibly easy to make and a great alternative to cookies; it’s basically the same concept but a lot less time consuming. These congo bars are absolutely delicious and can be enjoyed warm out of the oven and are just as good a day or two later. As with all of my cookies and bars, if they aren’t fresh from the oven, I pop them in the microwave for a few seconds before eating. These are a great treat, easy to put together and all the ingredients are staples in my pantry. Desserts are great, but sometimes they become that much better when you don’t have to make a trip to the store before making. Make these bars to quench your next sweet craving!
And now for the Penzey’s giveaway winner! Congratulations to Lindsey of Lindsey’s Kitchen , comment number 11, you are the winner of a $15.00 giftcard from Penzey’s!
Congo Bars
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 Tsp baking powder
1/2 Tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 Cups packed light brown sugar
2 Large eggs
1 1/2 Tsp vanilla extract
1 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 Cup white choclate chips, divided
1 1/2 Cups shredded unsweetend coconut, toasted plus additional for topping the bars
1 1/2 Tbsp sweetened coconut
1 Cup almonds, toasted and coarsley chopped (I used walnuts since I didn’t have almonds on hand…can’t wait to make them with almonds next!)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Line a 9×13 pan with 1-2 pieces foil, spray with cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment. Put both the melted butter and brown sugar in the bowl and mix until combined.
Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium-low speed until ingredients combined completely.
Remove the bowl from the stand, add the flour mixture and fold in by hand. Add 1/2 cup of the semi-sweet, 1/2 cup of the white chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of the toasted coconut and stir together.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
Bake for 22-25 minutes. (Until the top begins to crack and the bars feel firm to touch) The cooking time may need to be increased to achieve desired wellness.
Remove the bars from the oven and garnish with the remaining white and semi-sweet chips as well as the unsweetened and sweetened coconut. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Once they are completely cooled, cut the bars (12 bars) and store in an air-tight container.
Recipe source: The Curvy Carrot, originally from Baking Illustrated
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