These are just about the best treats I’ve ever made: Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars. They’re full of gooey chocolate, and that’s a good thing!!
Watch the quick how-to video showing you how to make this recipe, then print out the complete recipe below.
September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness month. What do these goodies have to do with cancer? The Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars come from the “Cookies For Kids Cancer: Best Bake Sale Cookbook.”
The Cookies for Kids’ Cancer cookbook provides directions on how to hold a bake sale, signage, and lots of recipes and photos. The best part? All of the author’s royalties go directly to help fight pediatric cancer by funding research into new treatments and a cure.
Author Gretchen Holt-Witt founded cookiesforkidscancer.org in 2007 when her two-year old son Liam was diagnosed with pediatric cancer. A few years and a few hundred thousand cookies and bake sales later, this charity has raised millions of dollars to help fun new pediatric cancer treatments.
Kids helping kids… I like that.
These are slab cookies. Made in one pan and lifted out as a slab.
They’re a little chocolatey. SOOO good right out of the pan and warm and gooey, but rather hard to cut.
It’s best to chill them and them cut them neatly. If you’re into being neat.
So let’s talk about the makeup of these bars. They’re basically chocolate chip- oatmeal cookie dough spread into the bottom of a pan, then topped with a gooey chocolate layer, then topped with more chocolate chip- oatmeal cookie dough.
I love the sort of natural, rustic crackle look on the tops of the bars. Gives you a lil’ peek that there is a gooey layer of chocolate hidden in the middle.
Hungry? Craving chocolate now? Yeah, I thought so.
And there they are… my “neatly” cut Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars. Chocolate overload, if you like that sort of thing. Good with milk, if you drink that stuff. And perfect for a bake sale, where you’ll make big bucks to donate to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
I think it’s a great idea for kids to have bake sales for charity– showing them that it’s not all about making money for themselves to purchase their next video game or iTunes gift card or whatever. There are things much more important in this world.
Here are a few more bar recipes you might enjoy:
- Strawberry Shortbread Bars
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
- Royal Chocolate Marshmallow Bars
- Apple Pie Bars
- Cranberry Bliss Bars
- Six Layer Bars
- Lemon Blueberry Streusel Bars
- Chocolate Revel Bars
Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars
Ingredients
GOOEY CHOCOLATE FILLING:
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
COOKIES:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup quick-cooking or old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper, allowing enough overhang on the long side to lift the bars from the pan.
PREPARE THE GOOEY CHOCOLATE FILLING:
- Place the chocolate chips and condensed milk in a small saucepan over the lowest possible heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the vanilla, and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
PREPARE THE COOKIE DOUGH:
- Place the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Beat well. Whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add to the butter mixture. Beat until everything is well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in the chocolate chips.
ASSEMBLE THE BARS:
- Using half of the batch of cookie dough, place dollops into the prepared pan and press down lightly to even it out. Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the dough and then add small dollops of the remaining dough on top. Don't worry if the dollops don't completely cover the chocolate mixture. Just spread it together as much as you can, and let some chocolate peek through.
- Bake until lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside to cool completely, then cut into 32 bars.
Notes
- These are easiest to cut when they have chilled for a while. You'll be able to get nice, clean cuts when they're firmer, then they'll soften up a bit when they're at room temperature again.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Yum! These look great! I love cookies of all kinds so that’s what I usually get at bake sales. I’d be inclined to pick oatmeal raisin as my favorite but I love cut outs too (those are hit or miss at bake sales though).
http://www.facebook.com/OhRheally/posts/287388507940659
I posted it to my facebook that will go to twitter, too. Bonus!
I hosted a breast cancer bake sale and I had the most fun making cake pop’s that looked like boobies. 🙂 lol I think this is fabulous. My 2yo cousin is currently fighting neuroblastoma and I am always trying to help them raise money.
I entered your son’s giveaway
I love a good brownie
Left comment on Recipe Boy’s giveaway, too!
https://twitter.com/#!/queenofthesnot/status/119611499491762176
tweet!
Definitely would buy some chocolate chip cookies and/or chocolate chocolate chocolate ! brownies.
Thanks!
I tweeted this post!
I can never pass up a chocolate chip cookie! Although anything with peanut butter and chocolate will work too. What a great cookbook for such a good cause. If I don’t win, i’m buying it, and if I do win, I’ll donate the cost to the cause!