No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars | Say YES! to a No-No

It's embarrassing to admit that at my age, I still prefer eating the raw cookie dough to eating even  warm just-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. Isn't that really pretty childish?

I'm supposed to know better! I know that eating stuff with raw eggs in it is just plain bad. You'll end up with a sick tummy. That's what I tell the grandkids!

Still . . . . I just can't resist!

So when I found a "safe" cookie dough recipe, I believed it was made for me. A cookie dough cupcake with cookie dough frosting was the first things I ever made with my young cooking student, 9 year-old Wyatt. (He still talks about it; thinks we should do it again.)

These cookie bars have been quite a hit at my house these past few months. Mr. Rosemary tells me these are his new favorite.  So I guess it's going to be repeated some more.

There's only one problem with these cookies, so minor I shouldn't even mention it, but they do have to be refrigerated.  They can get pretty gooey at a summer picnic. But I think I'll suffer through.

No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars
From The View From Great Island

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1 12-ounce bag (about 2 cups) mini chocolate chips
frosting
1 12-ounce bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

Using a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar and salt together until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and mix in.
Beat in the condensed milk and the flour, alternately, mixing after each addition.
Mix in the chocolate chips.
Spray a 8x8 square baking pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper with long ends so you can lift out the bars for easy cutting later. t
Turn the dough out into the pan and pat down evenly with your hands. (You may want to flour your hands -- the dough is pretty sticky.) Smooth it out evenly.
Cover and refrigerate until firm, (about 4 hours) or even overnight if you like. The texture will be fudge-like.
To make the chocolate topping, put the semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup and microwave for one minute. Stir, and then return to the microwave for short bursts of 15 seconds until the chocolate is totally smooth and melted. Don't over heat.
Let the chocolate cool for about 5 minutes, and then pour onto the dough. Spread out evenly. Return to the refrigerator until the topping is firm. Cut into 16 squares.
Keep the bars in the refrigerator until ready to eat.