Saturday, March 29, 2014

Ginger Chocolate Chip Bars-Because You Have To Take More Than Books To A Signing

I participated in an author panel at a local historical society last night. It was a wonderful chance to share our love of writing with a different audience. And since they were nice enough to buy our books and listen to us for two hours, we all brought some snacks to share.

This happens all the time. You go to a book festival and need to bring treats. You do a panel, or a reading or any sort of appearance, and want to entice readers on over. My original plan was to bring lemon bars, but spring has yet to make an appearance here in Maryland, so that felt wrong. Instead, I embraced the cold and rainy weather and made ginger chocolate chip bars. Took me less than five minutes to mix before popping in the oven. Couldn't be easier, or more delicious! Thanks so much to Real Simple magazine for the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 350° F.
  2. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and line it with 2 crisscrossed pieces of parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all sides. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugars, using an electric mixer, until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips.
  4. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool completely in the pan, then cut into 32 bars (8 rows by 4 rows).
     
    To store: The tight seal on a take-out container will keep the bars moist and chewy. 

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