OOEY GOOEY CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BARS

On my other blog, Mystery Fanfare, I post mystery reviews, interviews, cartoons of the day, and TV shows  and movies. Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery, was shown last year on the Hallmark Station. Because amateur sleuth Hannah Swensen (based on Joanne Fluke's mystery series) has a bakery, Hallmark has posted several of Fluke's recipes on their site. Great marketing. Here's a recipe for Ooey Gooey Chewy Cookie Bars. They're really easy and delicious, so mix up a batch of these great chocolate chip bars this weekend.

OOEY GOOEY CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BARS

Ingredients
1/2 cup white (granulated) sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (not sifted – pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa*** (Joanne uses Hershey’s -read note below)
1/2 stick salted butter, melted 1/4 cup, 2 ounces, 1/8 pound)
2 cups milk chocolate chips (Joanne uses 12-ounce package of Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips)
3 cups miniature marshmallows (pack down in cup)
1 -1/2 cups flaked coconut (pack down in cup when you measure )
1 cup chopped nuts (either pecans, or walnuts)
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in middle position

Directions

1. Mix white sugar, flour, salt, and cocoa together in a medium-sized bowl. Drizzle melted butter over top of the bowl and mix in with fork. When butter is incorporated, mixture will resemble small beads. (You can also do this in the bowl of a food processor, using chunks of chilled butter and the steel blade.)
2. Spray 9 inch by 13 inch cake pan with Pam (or other nonstick cooking spray), and dump crust mixture in bottom. Gently shake pan to distribute mixture and press down with metal spatula.
3. *** You can find unsweetened baking cocoa in the baking aisle of your grocery store. Make sure you get an American brand. Some of the others are Dutch process and they won’t work in this recipe. Also be careful not to get cocoa mix, the kind you’d use to make hot chocolate or chocolate milk.
4. Sprinkle milk chocolate chips evenly over crust layer. Sprinkle marshmallows over that. Sprinkle flaked coconut on next, and then sprinkle on chopped nuts. Press everything down with back of metal spatula. Pour sweetened condensed milk over very top as evenly as you can.
5. Bake Ooey Gooey Chewy Cookie Bars at 350 degrees F. for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bars are nicely browned on top.
6. Let bars cool on wire rack or on cold stovetop burner. When cool, cut into brownie-sized pieces.
7. WARNING: DON’T REFRIGERATE THESE COOKIE BARS WITHOUT CUTTING THEM FIRST – THEY’RE VERY DENSE AND SOLID WHEN CHILLED.