Evaporated milk Cookie Recipes

So…heart healthy week is over. Really, this blog is a total oxymoron. Or is it conflict of interest?

Oh well, let’s just agree that, no matter what, Chocolate Chip Gooey Bars are worth every calorie, okay?

I love my dog, I really do. She’s a total sweetheart. Ginger is a golden retriever and she’s 12 but you’d never know it unless you had to watch her go up the stairs at night. During the day? She has no problem bounding up and down, but by nightfall she regrets her decision to look for kleenex in every trash can in the house 10 times during the day.

Ginger is nothing if not quirky. She eats kleenex and napkins, will only shred paper towels and won’t touch toilet paper rolls. She doesn’t understand the end of Daylight Savings Time, so since October she whines from 4pm-5pm wondering why I haven’t fed her. And, when given a choice, she will sleep with her head on a pillow instead of flat on the ground.

Last week Ginger got groomed. While she was away, I washed her bed. The result? A fluffy, clean dog and a really lumpy bed. Ginger was not amused. She wasn’t happy when I laid it down for her, when I tried to smooth it out, and she wasn’t happy all. night. long.

It was like Princess and the Pea only worse because it actually happened. All night long. The poor thing couldn’t get comfortable and she let me know it by shaking. And moving. And chewing. Did I mention she did this all night long?

Today we’re both tired. She’s napping. I’m working. Lucky girl!

Since I’m tired, I want comfort food. Is there anything more comforting than chocolate chip cookies?

How about chocolate chip cookie gooey bars? Yes?

I mean, I can’t even get over these pictures you guys. See how good they look? Yeah, they taste better. These were direct to the freezer and hope I forget about them bars.

I used my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe to make these gooey bars. Gooey bars are kind of my obsession, if you didn’t know. I’m particularly partial to the Funfetti version…but these are my new favorite.

Really, the only thing you need to be careful of when you’re browning butter is that you don’t let it go too long because it burns easy. It’s kind of like making a pudding or thick sauce: you stir and stir and stir waiting for it to thicken and then allofasuddenitsthickhurryupturnofftheheat. Same goes with browning butter. Once it starts it’s super fast and can burn if you’re not watching it.

It might seem like a pain…but don’t skip it. Brown butter gives a richness to the cookie bars that aren’t there with just melted butter. Totally worth it.

Another reason I love this chocolate chip cookie recipe is because it has a ton of brown sugar in it. When you add the brown sugar to the melted butter it creates a toffee-like flavor that is sorely missing in non-melted butter cookies. Normally, starting with melted butter means you have to chill the cookies for hours or overnight, which is why making gooey bars is better.

Chill time? 30 minutes. Bake time? 30 minutes. Time to eat? Well, that depends on if you want a fork or a bar and if you care about burning your mouth.

{I don’t care about burning my mouth. I’m a fork-in-pan kind of girl.}

These chocolate chip cookie gooey bars are even better than plain chocolate chip cookie bars because in between two layers of cookie dough you pour an entire can of sweetened condensed milk. This makes them ooey gooey in the center.

Also? Because you can never have enough chocolate, I broke up an XL Hershey bar all over the center. See those huge chunks of chocolate? Yeah, that.

I won’t judge you if you skip the Hershey Bar. But if you replace the chocolate bar with peanut butter cups or Rolos, I think I’ll respect you more.

These gooey bars are the ultimate comfort food. Really good for tired days. Or sad days. Or Sundays.

Drooling yet?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Gooey Bars

My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe made into a gooey bar. This bar cookie is off the hook amazing - gooey, chocolatey, and perfect!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
• 1 (14 ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk (you can use regular SCM if you can't find the fat-free)
• 1 (4.4 ounce) large Hershey bar (or smaller bars to make that same size)

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, about 6 minutes, until it becomes brown in color. It will foam, reduce, then foam again. Once it’s done cooking the foam is a light brown and it will dissipate after you remove it from the heat. Once it starts to brown, keep stirring so it doesn’t burn. Let sit for about 5 minutes to cool.
2. Pour into an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. While still hot, add both sugars and mix on low until combined. Let sit to cool for a few minutes.
3. While butter mixture is cooling, combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir and set aside.
4. Turn mixer (with butter mixture bowl attached) on low. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing completely. Mix in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Line a 9x13” baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray for easy removal.
6. Press half the cookie dough in the prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the top of the bottom layer (be careful to leave about 1/4” edge around the pan so the milk doesn’t touch the foil), then break up the chocolate bar and drop pieces over the top. Break up the remaining cookie dough and place on top of milk. Press with your hands to flatten. It will mostly cover but not completely cover the bottom layer.
7. Refrigerate pan for 30 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until the tops of the bars start to get golden brown. Cool completely before slicing into bars.

© Crazy for Crust. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.

Sweets from friends:
Caramel Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Gooey Bars by Averie Cooks
Oatmeal Cookie S’mores Gooey Bars by Chelsea’s Messy Apron