{Recipe} Congo Bars
From The California Table archives
I’m back this week with another recipe from The California Table blog archives. A family favorite - Congo Bars! This is a vintage recipe that you can find all over the Internet, originally from Nestle. (Which always makes me think of that episode of Friends where Phoebe had Monica reconstruct her grandmother’s secret family chocolate chip recipe, which turned out to be from Nestle Toll House.)
A blondie by any other name, Congo Bars are the ideal blend of sweet and chewy, perfect with an afternoon cup of decaf in the winter, or served with a dollop of vanilla ice cream in the summer. Enjoy!
CONGO BARS
INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup butter
2 ¼ cups brown sugar
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup nuts (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and remove from heat. Set aside to cool.
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Beat the eggs into the brown sugar and butter mixture, one at a time. Add the flour mixture to the saucepan, then the chocolate chips (and nuts, if using).
Spread into a greased 9" x 13” pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the dough is lightly browned and a fork inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.
EDIT 11/30/23: I shared this recipe on this fabulous virtual cookie exchange post over on Modern Mrs. Darcy (seriously, if you’re a reader, follow her blog), and another commenter posted that the folklore around this recipe is that comes from the Congregational Church.
LOVE that vintage ad!
My dad loves Congo Bars-his mother used to make them. He insists that I use Crisco instead of butter because he likes them to get hard so he can dunk them. I've tried to sneak butter in instead but he knows the difference. I thought my family was the only one who still had these in rotation-thanks for sharing.