Congo Bars

Name: Congo Bars
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 2 ¾ cups flour; 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoon salt; ⅔ cup butter (softened); 2 cups brown sugar; 3 eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 12 ounces milk chocolate chips; 1 cup chopped pecans

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36 Comments

4.50 from 4 votes

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Congo Bars are thick, soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie bars that are a family favorite.

If you love cookies, these Congo Bars are for you! They are basically a batch of cookies spread out in a pan. Thick, chewy, and full of chocolate chip goodness. You can mix in any ingredients you want – M and M’s are one of our favorites!

Ingredient Notes

flour
baking powder
salt
butter
brown sugar
eggs
vanilla
milk chocolate chips
pecans

How to make Congo Bars:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
In another bowl combine butter and brown sugar using a mixer until blended.
Add eggs, one at a time to sugar mixture, mixing on low in between each addition.
Add vanilla and mix well.
Add in the flour mixture and mix until combined, then fold in chips and pecans.
Lightly spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray and spread batter evenly into dish.
Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Do not over bake.

Storing and Other Tips

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Only Mix Until Combined: Mix everything together just until incorporated, but don’t overmix. Overmixing will make the congo bars turn out tough.

Don’t Overbake! Really, don’t overbake these. They will continue to cook after they come out of the oven, so if you bake them longer in the oven, they will end up being dry and crumbly.

More Dessert Bars You’ll Love

Serves: 20 servings

Congo Bars

4.50 from 4 votes

The perfect dessert bar! These Congo Bars are basically chocolate chip cookies in a bar and so delicious!

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

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Ingredients

2 ¾ cups flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup butter softened
2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
In another bowl combine butter and brown sugar using a mixer until blended.
Add eggs, one at a time to sugar mixture, mixing on low in between each addition.
Add vanilla and mix well.
Add in the flour mixture and mix until combined, then fold in chips and pecans.
Lightly spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray and spread batter evenly into dish.
Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Do not over bake.

Notes

Only Mix Until Combined: Mix everything together just until incorporated, but don’t overmix. Overmixing will make the congo bars turn out tough.

Don’t Overbake! Really, don’t overbake these. They will continue to cook after they come out of the oven, so if you bake them longer in the oven, they will end up being dry and crumbly.

Recipe adapted from Bakerella

Nutrition

Calories: 333 kcal · Carbohydrates: 47 g · Protein: 3 g · Fat: 16 g · Saturated Fat: 7 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 4 g · Trans Fat: 0.3 g · Cholesterol: 41 mg · Sodium: 176 mg · Potassium: 130 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 31 g · Vitamin A: 228 IU · Vitamin C: 0.1 mg · Calcium: 72 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Equipment

Recipe Details

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Cost: $5

Author: Steph Loaiza

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Questions & Reviews

RebekahRose says:

These look great!! I don't think I've ever made cookie bars before but should give these a try. :)
Sunray Gardens says:

Looks wonderful and definitely easy.
Cher Sunray Gardens
Clumsy Coquette says:

Wow, these look amazing! Now I want cookies!
Lois says:

Oh my goodness! These looked so good and so easy that I just had to make them. They just came out of the oven and we are waiting to try them. I'm blogging about them too. I just love your website! It's my new go-to place for something new! Thank you!

Lois

http://inmysparetimelolo.blogspot.com/
Danni Baird @ Silo Hill Farm says:

Oh you just knew I'd click on that yummy looking photo! Can't resist chocolate chip anything! Yummmmm!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says:

I have been wanting to make Congo bars forever. These look amazing!
Fliss says:

I have these in the oven right now! My lil' guy will be excited about them once he's home from school. :) I didn't have any milk chocolate chips on hand, so I made them with semi sweet. No doubt they will still taste amazing!
Nicky says:

Tonight is the second time I have made these for my kids (and me...oh yes...for me, as well) and they are absolutely delicious!
Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Alexis says:

I saw your recipe and saved the link on my computer as a must try! And I am so glad I did, they are so good they are addicting. I changed the pecans to walnuts, but here is my post about them.

http://lexslifeasanewwife.blogspot.com/2012/06/congo-bars.html
naomi says:

I plan on making these tonight so my daughter can take these tomorrow for her summer school class. My daughter turned 5 year old today. Thanks for a nice simple quick recipe. I love looking at your blog. :)
Unknown says:

These were delicious. Pretty quick and easy. Nice and soft. I added pecans and walnuts. Will definitely be making these again! Would be delicious heated up with some ice cream on top!
Christen says:

I had a craving for something sweet and had all the ingredients on hand. They were so quick to make and turned out DELICIOUS! I satisfied my craving and now am left with the rest of the batch! Good thing I halved it because they are going to be all gone very soon!
Chelsie Worley says:

I just baked these for a New Years party I'm going to tonight! Can't wait to see how they taste :)
Monique T says:

I am super excited to try these, I have decided to give up on chocolate chip cookies and try making them into bar, I can make breads, and cakes and other good items, but I just can't get the chocolate chip cookies right, I hope this works!
vikki buss says:

I just made the conga bars, however I just dropped them by tablespoons onto my cookie sheets and they turned out fabulous as a cookie...thank you for sharing this recipe -- now I have a new cookie recipe to send with my daughter on Saturday's for her EMT training..
vikki buss says:

I have the same problem, my choco chippers suckers! However, I made this recipe into cookies - I just dropped them by tablespoons onto the cookie sheet and they came out fabulous...now I have a good recipe for choco chips!
Lisa says:

Made this recipe this morning. Loved these growing up, however followed the directions to the "T" and in my opinion the came out cake like which I did not care for. Next time I make these I will try a different recipe.
Lisa says:

I made these yesterday. They came out delicious. I did adjust a few things just for personal taste and to be creative. I used macadamia nuts because I don't like pecans. I also added some white chocolate chips and heath toffee bits, only because I had partial bags open and decided to get creative. My husband told me "save this recipe, it's a winner!" That's high praise from him!
Lindsay says:

These sound wonderful! I want to make them for my daughters' teachers but want to omit the nuts in case of allergies. Do you know if I will need to adjust the flour to make it them come out? Thanks
Cyd says:

You wouldn't need to add much if at all. If it seems too gooey you could add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup flour.
azy says:

hi, i'm from malaysia.. i just tried your recipe but it turns more cakey..not mist and fudgy can you help me? thanks sorry for my broken english :(
Cyd says:

We have never had a problem with these. Your oven could be hotter than most and maybe less cooking time would help.
Glenda Golden says:

Saw this recipe in our "hometown" paper. My husband pointed it out . The title caught my eye...along with the all brown sugar. In the 70's lived 18 months in Africa and had to learn to make my own brown sugar.... Brought back a memory. Do you know how it got the name "Congo Bars". Thank you for sharing.
Cyd says:

There are several theories floating out there about the history of the Congo Bar. One of the first recipes for Congo Squares showed up in the 1940s on a package of Nestlé chocolate chips. It might have been a marketing gimmick to compete with the wartime “Tropical Bar” that Hershey’s had developed for soldiers. Others speculate that “Congo” refers to coconut and chocolate, both rather exotic ingredients in the early half of the 20th century. And yet other research links the Congo recipe to something served at the Congo Room, the name of the themed mid-century lounges that dotted the United States from Las Vegas all the way to Canton, Ohio. And the mystery deepens; some insist that Congo is short for ‘congregation,’ as the recipe was so popular in congregational churches, at bake sales or afternoon teas. One thing everyone can agree on is that it doesn’t get any better than a moist and chewy cookie bar that’s chock full of delicious stuff.
Jae says:

I used to make these back in the late '60's when I was in High School. It was my mother's recipe and they always reminded me of chocolate chip cookies. After going to college, I tried to make these, but the recipe wasn't to be found. I'm so happy to find the recipe again. I look forward to making these again when the weather cools off. I hate heating the kitchen in the summer.
Cyd says:

These Congo bars do bring back a lot of childhood memories! They taste similar to a chocolate chip cookie in bar form with the yummy taste of brown sugar!
Kelsey Jones says:

I was so excited when I found a Congo bar recipe by Six Sisters! When I took the bars out of the oven, they were golden on top, so I thought they were done. After I let them cool for a little bit, I went to go cut into it and it was still very gooey. I ended up putting it back in the oven for about 15 minutes. They still turned out really good!
Ma says:

If I double the recipe…should I extend the baking time a bit?
Momma Cyd says:

A single batch of Congo bars cooks in a 9 x 13 inch pan. If you double the batch and use the same size pan, your bars will be way too thick and may burn on the outside and the inside might still be gooey. If doubling the recipe, it would work best to cook in 2 9 x 13 inch pans.
Brittany B. says:

I just made took them out of the oven! Can't wait to try them! I'm sure they'll be amazing! 😁
Celena says:

This was such an easy dessert to make for a busy night. I added half peanut butter chips and half chocolate chips. I would stick to the recipe and just stick with chocolate chips. (The peanut butter chips got lost a lil bit.) This dessert only lasted two days in our house. We will be making it again!
Teena says:

I love this recipe. Easy to make. Used to make it often when my boys were at home.
Liz says:

Mine were cake like....yuck. wanted chewy... too much backing powder??
Momma Cyd says:

You can add a little more cooking time.
Linda says:

In the picture it looks like there is caramel in them, but I didn't see any in the recipe- did you add it or is is the picture wrong? Thank you- I love your recipes!😁
Steph @ Six Sisters says:

We like these bars a little under-baked, which is why they may look a little gooey - similar to caramel. There isn't any caramel in the recipe (but if you're looking for a good caramel-y dessert, try our Caramelitas!)