Simplicity....Chocolate Chip Bars

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication"~Leonardo da Vinci

Have you ever heard the story about how our simple chocolate chip cookie came to existence? Well, there was a little homemaker (we prefer to be called domestic engineers/domestic goddesses, etc.., in today's time:) back in the 1920's named Ruth Wakefield. Well, her sweet hubby must have decided that his bride needed more to fill her day, so he bought her an inn. Can you guess what it was called? The Toll House Inn, of course (I didn't really see that one coming either). Well, Mrs. Wakefield was apparently quite popular for her "Butter Drop Do Cookies" that called for crumbled unsweetened chocolate. As luck would have it, Mrs. Wakefield ran out of her unsweetened chocolate and used a semi sweet candy bar that was left as a gift for her by.....Mr Andrew Nestle...yes, that's right, Andrew Nestle of the Nestle Chocolate Co.  Well, apparently the cookies became quite popular with the clients at the Tollhouse Inn. See, the semi sweet chocolate didn't melt away like its bitter cousin. The Nestle Co. soon made an agreement with the Wakefield's. They agreed to give Mrs. Wakefield a lifetime supply of chocolate for the recipe. And The "Tollhouse Recipe" was to be printed on each package of semi sweet chocolate that was sold. How's that for a lifechanging story!!

I realize after recaping the life of Mrs. Wakefield and her "Tollhouse Recipe" that you might be expecting the Tollhouse recipe. Well....that wasn't the point. I just wanted to give a little history lesson. See, I broadened your horizon today. And besides, you know where to get the Nestle Tollhouse recipe...if not, reread the above paragraph and stop multitasking while reading.

 I've had the following recipe for about 15 years. Honestly, it came off the back of a 10 pound bag of chocolate chips that my parents bought at a wholesale warehouse type store. Who knows why we were in need of a 10 lb bag of chocolate chips? When we would go to that wholesale warehouse type store it was always a battle of the evils. My dad enjoyed purchasing the huge bulk quantities of food products. My poor mother always had to figure out where to store the colossal-sized containers when we got home. On this particular shopping day, I'm guessing it was probably a battle between 10 lbs of chocolate chips or 15 lbs of pickled eggs. Glad that one worked out....

Back to the recipe. It is very simple. No odd ingredients. Just pure simple satisfaction.  And to further simplify the process of our already simple chocolate chip cookie, all you have to do is spread this dough into a pan. I bet Mrs. Wakefield wished she had known about bar cookies as she was scooping her gajillionth cookie. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Bars

2 1/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups (12 ounces) semi sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl cream butter, sugar and brown sugar until light. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture until combined. Stir in chips. Spread evenly into greased 10x15x1-inch pan (jellyroll pan). Bake at 375ºF for 20-25 minutes. Do not overbake. They will be slightly brown, but they may still look a bit undercooked. That is just fine. Cool before cutting into 48 two-inch bars.