I call these Pat's Chocolate Chip Bars because the person kind enough to share the recipe was a very talented cook named Pat. I'd been looking for recipes to send to the troops, and Pat said her bars were perfect for that because they ship well and stay fresh. The recipe came through on both counts, and I've been using it ever since.
Unfortunately, I never updated the photos until now. I also have to admit that for many years I was making the bars a little thinner than Pat's original. Pat's recipe calls for a 15x10 inch pan, and I usually halved the recipe and used a 9x13 inch pan. A half batch of a 15x10 inch pan should be around 9 inch square or my new favorite size, 7x11. So if you make the full recipe, be prepared for a gigantic batch of bars. If you halve it, go with the 9 inch or 7x11 inch.
More About Pat's Chocolate Chip Bars
As mentioned, they're thick. They puff up a lot in the oven and will be cakey at first, but like so many delicious type of bars they sink a little, become denser and develop what I think is a much better texture after cooling.
I've mostly remained true to Pat's recipe, but I hardly ever have salted butter so I usually use unsalted and about 1 teaspoon of salt. I've also started using this trick I learned on Twitter which is to rub the bottom of the lined pan with coconut oil and sprinkle it sparsely with the best salt you have. This adds just enough salt to enhance the sweet. It's absolutely not necessary, but if you love sweet & salty then it sort of is.
Recipe
Pat's Chocolate Chip Bars
Ingredients
- 8 oz salted butter, softened 230 grams
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar 250 grams
- 1 cup brown sugar 200 gram
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups all purpose flour (Spoon and level) 440 grams
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt or 1 teaspoon if using unsalted butter
- 2 12 oz packages (670 grams) of semi-sweet chocolate chips (don’t cut back)
- 2 cups 220 grams chopped pecans (optional)
- ½ cup M&Ms baking bits optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 15x10 inch pan with parchment paper and grease parchment.
- With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time (without whipping, just beat), then beat in the vanilla.
- Combine the dry ingredients and blend in. Add chips and nuts. Spread in the pan and bake at 350F (176 C) for 20 to 30 minutes. Pat's recipe said 20 minutes, but the bars will most likely take a little longer.
- Let cool completely, then cut into bars.
Notes
have had this recipe for over 35 years, and have no clue as to where it came from. You can also do the drop way, but I am so lazy, this works better for me. When I shipped them, I lined a trash bag box with foil (heavy duty) and then wrapped the box in foil again. . They stacked nicely
Anna says
Brown sugar usually weights between 7 or 8 oz per cup depending on whether it's dark or light, what brand it is, how much moisture there is, etc. It's hard to say exactly, so I usually go with 7 or 7 1/2 o. 7 1/2 times 28 is 210 grams. It really depends on the recipe.
For anyone who doesn't understand how volume and weight work, 1 cup volume is 8 oz. The weight of 1 cup of brown sugar is 7 or 7 1/2 or sometimes 8 oz. To get the amount of grams, you multiply whatever the weight is by 28 because there are 28 grams in an ounce.
Margaret says
About to try this recipe, but I have a question about amounts: is it 1 cup of brown sugar (isn't that about 220 grams) or 50 grams? Thanks so much!
Anna says
Angie, thanks for the review! I hope your co-workers like them.
Angie says
These are yummy. I left out the nuts (allergic to) and I made a half batch with a pinch of salt. I baked mine for 24 minutes, but probably would have been fine at 20 (I just wasn't sure because it was still so light after 20 minutes)...They are moist and bursting with chocolate! Yum! I'm taking them to work tomorrow to see what everyone says...
Cherie says
Yum! I'll have to make these next month for my Angel Baker troop!
Janet says
OMG! These bars are wonderful! Could hardly wait until they were cooled to cut them....many thanks to you and Pat for sharing the recipe! I was skeptical of ALL the chips but it wasn't too many.
runjess says
Thanks for this. I'm always looking for goodies that keep well in the mail.
Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer says
This looks great - I am a big bar fan... Thanks for supporting the troops my Hubby is a Marine and when he was overseas goodies from home made a big difference to them.. Thanks
Trish says
Thank you for thinking of the troops! When my husband was in Iraq someone told me to put a piece of white bread in with the cookies I sent - the moisture from the bread is absorbed into the cookies, helping to keep the cookies from becoming dry. I did a test run, and it was in fact very helpful, the bread was as hard as a rock, but the cookies were very fresh.
Again, thanks for supporting our troops!!
Trish -
Proud Army Wife
FFichiban says
MMmmm another must-steal recipe thhhxx ^^!
Chelsea says
these look good!! I love looking at your site. It's the only way I'm getting my chocolate "fix" since I'm 13 weeks pregnant!!
😉 By the way, I love the pictures of Lizzie. She's adorable!
Carrie says
Hi Anna,
This recipe looks like one that will become one of my favorites (love all those chocolate chips).
More importantly, thank you for thinking of the troops, baking for them and sending them something special. My brother was a marine and did two tours in Iraq. Packages from families are great. Special gifts - like these cookie bars are wonderful for them. Just wanted to thank you for thinking of them.
Lisa Ernst says
I agree, these look like blondies that are packed with chips. My kind of bar! I see these in my future. 🙂
Katrina says
They look great. You'll have to let me know how they are 5 days from now and maybe I'll make those for shipping to troops, too.
bakingblonde says
OH, these looks and sound like blondies, one of my favorite bars ever!!
Love the pics.