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Chocolate Chip Candy Cookie Bars

Gift these Chocolate Chip Candy Cookie Bars to a friend or a neighbor for the holiday season!

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Chocolate Chip Candy Cookie Bars
Prep Time 18 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 43 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 683 kcal
Author Yvonne

Ingredients

  • 1 2/3 c. all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp. plus 1 1/2 c. sugar divided
  • 3/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 c. 2 sticks cold butter, divided
  • 1 egg slightly beaten
  • 1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp. 5-oz can evaporated milk, divided
  • 2 c. 12 oz pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
  • 1/2 c. brown rice syrup or corn syrup
  • 1 1/2 c. sliced almonds

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 375. Stir together flour, 2 tbsp. sugar and baking powder in medium bowl; using pastry blender, cut in 1/2 c. butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Stir in egg and 2 tbsp evaporated milk; stir until mixture holds together in a ball.
  2. Press onto bottom and 1/4 inch up sides of 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1 jelly-roll pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned; remove from oven, leaving oven on. Sprinkle 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips evenly over crust; do not disturb.
  3. Place remaining 1 1/2 c. sugar, remaining 1/2 c. butter, remaining 1/2 c. evaporated milk and brown rice syrup in 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils; stir in almonds. Continue cooking and stirring to 240F on candy thermometer (soft-ball stage) or until small amount of mixture, when dropped in to very cold water, forms a soft ball which flattens when removed from water. (Bulb of candy thermometer should not rest on bottom of saucepan.)
  4. Remove from heat. Immediately spoon almond mixture evenly over chips and crust; do not spread. Bake 10-15 minutes or just until almond mixture is golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 5 minutes.
  5. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 c. chips over top; cool completely. Cut into bars.

Recipe Notes

[My 2 Cents]
I don’t buy corn syrup anymore and found a great alternative: Brown Rice Syrup. “Brown rice syrup, also known as rice syrup or rice malt, is a sweetener derived by culturing cooked rice with enzymes to break down the starches, then straining off the liquid and reducing it by cooking until the desired consistency is reached.” Wikipedia. I found my jar at my local health food store and much prefer using it in recipes rather than corn syrup. In fact, I think it tastes BETTER than corn syrup.
Although the recipe says to just "sprinkle" the last of the chocolate chips in the end, I would go one step further and GENTLY press them down in to the cookie bar. I sprinkled mine on and didn't disturb them, but once the cookie bar was cooled hardly and of the chocolate chips I had reserved actually stuck to the cookie bar. Also, I left my cookie bar to cool uncovered over night and by morning it was perfectly ready to be cut. Not without a little elbow grease of course. I'm telling you, the amount of muscle that goes into this recipe will burn off the calories before you even eat them!

Adapted from The Cookie Bible

Nutrition Facts
Chocolate Chip Candy Cookie Bars
Amount Per Serving
Calories 683 Calories from Fat 369
% Daily Value*
Fat 41g63%
Saturated Fat 17g106%
Cholesterol 64mg21%
Sodium 191mg8%
Potassium 314mg9%
Carbohydrates 69g23%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 35g39%
Protein 13g26%
Vitamin A 625IU13%
Vitamin C 0.4mg0%
Calcium 181mg18%
Iron 3.2mg18%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.