Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day and in honor of that I am posting a recipe for Chocolate Chip Bars instead of cookies.  Why bars you ask?  It’s because I love the ease of cooking the bars in a pan instead of making individual cookies; making them the perfect choice when you are in a hurry to get to a potluck, bake sale, or birthday party. This recipe is buttery, soft, chewy and loaded with Hershey’s Chocolate pieces making them a treat that everyone will love.  My mom has made these Chocolate Chip Bars since 1978; however, for this recipe I made just a few modifications.  I doubled the recipe to make them extra thick and I added chocolate candy bar pieces to the top. If you need to make a bar for a large group and you don’t have a lot of time, this is the recipe for you.

They will disappear so fast people will be asking you for the recipe.

In a mixer beat  1 1/3 cups of softened butter, 1 cup of granulated sugar, and 1 cup of brown sugar together until creamy.

 Mix in 4 eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.

In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients together. Then mix 2 cups of flour with 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda.

Slowly mix the flour mixture into the sugar mixture until it is totally combined.

Now add in the 2 cups of rolled oats.

Then stir in the 11.5 oz bag of chocolate chips.

Spread the batter in a greased 9″x13″ baking pan.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until they are set up and golden brown.

While the bars are cooking break up the 2 candy bars into squares and put them in a plastic bag in the freezer.

When the bars are finished, get the chocolate out of the freezer and place the chocolate on top of the bars while they are still hot.

Then let them cool.  Now you are ready to sit down with a large glass of milk and enjoy your bars. Happy National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!