Congo Bars
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Congo bars are thick, chewy cookie bars packed with brown sugar flavor and lots of chocolate chips. These bars are made without a mixer, in one bowl, and are ready to bake in 10 minutes.
Ok you know I love cookie bars around here – like my monster cookie bars, chocolate chip cookie bars and blondies.
Congo bars are one of those old-school dessert recipes that have been around forever for good reason. They’re basically the chewy brown sugar cousin of a chocolate chip cookie — soft, buttery, loaded with chocolate chips, and perfect for feeding a crowd.
And despite the name, Congo bars don’t actually come from the Congo. Most food historians believe recipes like this were often given “exotic” names in the early 1900s as a marketing trend, likely inspired by the deep brown color from all the brown sugar. Kind of random honestly but thankfully the bars themselves are much better than the naming history.
What’s lasted all these years is how EASY they are. One bowl, no mixer, lots of brown sugar flavor, and the kind of nostalgic homemade dessert that disappears fast at bake sales, parties, and potlucks.I also love that I don’t have to bust out my electric mixer. You can check out more of my no mixer desserts here.
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter: You can also use salted butter. Omit the added salt.
- Light brown sugar: Use my homemade brown sugar recipe. You can also use dark brown sugar.
- Eggs: Use room temperature eggs mix more evenly into the batter
- Vanilla extract:
- All-purpose flour: Use a scale for best results.
- Baking soda
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Milk chocolate chips
How To Make Congo Bars
Begin by preheating the oven to 350°F. Position a rack in the center of the oven so the bars bake evenly. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray or line it with parchment paper for easier removal and slicing later.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth and fully combined. Since the butter is melted, you don’t need a mixer for this recipe. Make sure the butter is slightly cooled before using.
Whisking well at this stage helps dissolve some of the brown sugar which gives the bars a smoother texture.
Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract until evenly combined. Make sure the eggs are fully mixed in before adding the dry ingredients so the batter stays smooth and evenly textured. We want the eggs to be at room temperature so they don’t seize up the batter.
Add the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. I like switching to a spatula or wooden spoon at this point to avoid overmixing the dough. The dough will be very thick and soft. That’s exactly what you want for chewy cookie bars.
Fold in both kinds of chocolate chips. Using a mix of semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips gives these bars a more bakery-style flavor with lots of melty chocolate throughout.
Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Since the dough is thick, I like using a spatula or lightly greased hands to help spread it into the corners evenly.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown. The center will still look soft when you remove the pan from the oven, but the bars will continue to set as they cool. Slightly underbaking cookie bars is one of my favorite tricks for getting soft gooey centers instead of dry bars.
Allow the bars to cool completely before slicing. As they cool, the texture becomes perfectly chewy.
Storage
Store the baked bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Keeping them tightly covered helps maintain their soft chewy texture.
To freeze baked bars, allow them to cool completely first. Wrap individual bars or the entire pan tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months.
More Recipes To Try
If you love easy nostalgic desserts like these Congo bars, here are a few more bakery-style treats to try next:
- Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies – Soft, chewy cookies packed with rich brown sugar flavor and gooey chocolate chips.
- Star Crunch Cookies – A homemade version of the classic nostalgic treat with chewy caramel, chocolate, and crispy rice cereal.
- Pizookie – A warm skillet chocolate chip cookie served bakery-style and perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Churro Cheesecake Bars – Creamy cheesecake layered between cinnamon sugar crescent dough for one of the easiest desserts ever.
Congo bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g, 2 sticks) unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 2 cups (426 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (170 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup (170 g) milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Grease with nonstick cookie spray or line with parchment paper a 9×13 baking pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together until smooth and combined. 1 cup (226 g, 2 sticks) unsalted butter 2 cups (426 g) packed light brown sugar
- Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until evenly mixed in. 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- With a spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt and mix together. The dough will be soft and thick. Fold in the chocolate chips. Press the cookie dough into an even layer into the prepared pan. 2 ½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup (170 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 cup (170 g) milk chocolate chips
- Bake the bars for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned. The centers will look very soft, but the cookie bars will continue to set as they cool. Remove from the oven to allow to cool.
Notes
- Storage: Store the baked bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Keeping them tightly covered helps maintain their soft chewy texture.
- To freeze baked bars, allow them to cool completely first. Wrap individual bars or the entire pan tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months.
