Polka Dot Cookie Bars

Hello!  Welcome back to PeanutLifeAdventures.  Remember last month when I shared these M&M Cookie bars?  If you liked those, you should love today's sweet treat.  It came, from all places, from a magazine clipping from my mother-in-law.  My mother-in-law is an extremely healthy person.  She eats very healthy, balanced meals, and I hardly ever see her take a bite of dessert.  When she gave me this recipe, I was pretty surprised, but she knows her son/my husband loves his treats and knows that I like to bake for him.  These polka dot cookie bars certainly earned my husband's approval!

Again, I love the easy and simplicity of cookie bars.  I like that they just bake in one pan, and no rolling out dough, and a lot less cleanup.  Win in my book, especially when I am pressed for time, but still want to have a treat to enjoy for the week.

Polka Dot Cookie Bars

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/3 cup baking cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips (divided)

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a regular bowl if you don't have a stand mixer), cream the butter and sugars together until smooth.  Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat well.  Slowly add in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  Fold in 1 cup of white chocolate chips.  Spread in a well greased 15x10x1 inch pan.  Sprinkle the remaining white chips over the top of the batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for 18-23 minutes.  

If you don't have a 15x10 pan, you can use a 9x13 pan to make the cookies instead.  They will be thicker and will need longer to cook (closer to 30-40 minutes).  Test with toothpick near the center, if it comes out clean, then they are ready (be sure to do this step with cookie bars - it's important so you don't have doughy/soggy cookie bars in the middle!)

Let the cookie bars cool in the pan before cutting.

Enjoy!

 <-- Click for nutritional info and a printer friendly version

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