Toll House Bars

I recently saw a recipe for Blondie bars and started thinking how much I loved Toll House cookies, but would love them in bar form. So I decided to try using the recipe for Blondies and omitting the butterscotch chips and coconut.

Toll House Bars

2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4  tsp baking powder
1/2  tsp baking soda
1/2  tsp salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1-1/2  c. light brown sugar
1/2  c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (or 6 ounces chocolate, chopped)
1 c. coarsely chopped walnuts

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325° F. Butter a 9×13-inch baking pan; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

With a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, until well incorporated. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate chips & nuts. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and use the spatula to even the top as best as you can.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a nice honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool completely. Cut into bars; store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker