Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Chocolate Ganache

Do you ever believe people who claim to not like chocolate?

I sure don't.

My whole reason for making these cookie bars (twice) was I just wanted to put ganache on something.  Most of my normal, waking life is me looking for an excuse...any excuse really...to stuff my face with sugar, butter, and chocolate.  And ganache is all three of those things, plus heavy cream.  What could go wrong?

And so continues my love affair with re-imaginings of the chocolate chip cookie.

These bars are everything I love about chocolate chip cookies, but more of it.  And there's something deeply satisfying to my soul about eating a center-piece bar of dense chocolate chip cookie.

By the way...are you a corner person or a center piece person?  I've always been a center-piecer...with everything.  But I know corners people are out there, lurking sinisterly in the shadows.  To me...the corners are garbage.  Not even worth it.  Sometimes with brownies and bar cookies I just trim off the edges and corners.  Yeah, how do you like that corner people?  Which brings me to the info-mercial invention of the brownie pan that bakes a ton of what amount to corner-piece brownies.  So lame, who wants that?!?



Anyway.  Jim didn't even let me bring these in to work the first time I made them, he wanted them all for himself.  They're good and pretty easy and super impressive and delicious.  Make them.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars with Chocolate Ganache

(adapted from two peas and their pod)

Cookies:

2 1/8 cups flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
12 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp.
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Pinch sea salt to top

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugars, beating until smooth.  Add eggs and vanilla, beat on low until smooth.

Slowly add flour mixture, stirring only until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Spray a 9x13'' pan with baking spray.  Preheat oven to 325.  Spread dough into pan, smoothing with a rubber spatula until even.  Sprinkle a pinch or two of additional sea salt on top of the cookie dough, if desired.  Bake on center rack 25-28 minutes, or until edges are just beginning to pull away from the pan. 

Allow to cool completely before adding ganache.


Ganache

6 (1 oz.) squares semi-sweet chocolate
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

 In a sauce pan, melt butter and chocolate squares together over low heat.  Remove from heat and pour in the heavy cream, stirring until smooth.  Add the powdered sugar and beat vigorously until completely smooth, stir in vanilla.

Pour ganache over the top of the cookie bars.  Smooth top with a rubber spatula.  Allow to set..I chilled mine in the fridge.