Thousands, and Counting

Catchy title, huh?  Bet you're wondering, "Thousands of what?!"  Well, I'll tell you.  Thousands of a particular cookie have been made in my house and now in Ann's.  

Long, long ago, Nestle published a recipe called Toll House Pan Cookies and touted it as a summer cookie-- bar cookies which would take far less time to bake than sheet after sheet of drop cookies and therefore use less oven heat.  I gave it a try and made numerous batches. As time went on, I began to tinker with the recipe until I think the only things it has in common with the original recipe is that it has eggs, flour, sugar and butter.  As do pretty much all cookies.  

Anyway, it's become a family classic.  Quick, delicious, and perfect for any occasion.  I've given the recipe to many people and they all love it.  

So here, without further ado, is my recipe:

Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1½ tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2½ cups flour

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup vanilla chips

Cream butter and sugars well.  Add vanilla and eggs, beat until blended.  Mix dry ingredients and add a cup at a time, mixing well.  Add chips.  Bake in a heavy jelly roll (10" x 15") pan at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until top is deep golden brown.  

By Now World Famous Bar Cookies!

Ann substitutes peanut butter chips for the vanilla chips. You could also use all chocolate, but the mix really is good!  I cut mine rather small and get 4 dozen, Ann cuts hers larger and probably gets about thirty.  They freeze well; I put a few in the cookie jar and the rest in Ziplock freezer bags and then remove a half-dozen at a time as needed.  That way, since there just the two of us here, they don't get stale.  

For years I used an old inexpensive jelly roll pan and my cookies always caved-in in the center of the pan. One day I was at Ann's and noticed she had a heavy pan just that size and when I asked, she said she got it from Pampered Chef.  When I got back home, I immediately ordered one. (You can order on line and have it sent to your house--no need to wait for a party!)  It made all the difference. Ann, even though she has that pan, always uses her Pampered Chef bar pan and swears by it.  {Please note: this is not an ad for Pampered Chef, but simply info regarding the need for a substantial pan to make these (and probably any bar cookies) turn out perfectly.  Any brand of heavy baking pan will work.}  

Oh, and warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream?  Oh yeah!  ♥