These Congo Squares, also known as chocolate chip blondies, are made using a combination of butter, brown sugar, eggs, flour, chocolate chips, and almonds. They are ideal for a party. Making them is quite simple, and there aren’t many dishes to wash. These Congo squares are just as chewy, gooey, and addicting as chocolate chip cookies.
These Congo squares are simply too good to refuse. They are tender, buttery, and chocolatey. Congo squares are only a shortened name for chocolate chip cookie bars, despite the name suggesting an exotic dish. Brown sugar, walnuts, and chocolate chips are combined in the recipe to create chewy, gooey bars that taste like buttery caramel.
Why are They Known as Congo Squares?
The “Congo Room” in Vegas and “Congo Square” in New Orleans are the inspirations for the names of these substantial cookie bars. Some claim that this cookie bar’s unusual (and entirely optional) ingredient, shredded coconut, inspired the name to be inspired by the African nation of Congo. The congo squares have a deeper flavor than blonde brownies, but the bars are extremely similar to them.
The term Congo Bars is a made-up reference to a fictional Congo that also served as the inspiration for the renowned Congo Room in Las Vegas and even the Congo Room in Canton, Ohio. Chocolate and coconut are two examples of exotic ingredients that may have led someone to believe that they originated in Africa.
How to Make Congo Squares?
Butter, brown sugar, eggs, flour, chocolate chips, and almonds are the basic ingredients in Congo Squares. They are essentially just another name for cookies made on a sheet pan or with chocolate chips. You can eat them however you choose, but it’s best to serve them warm and perhaps with some vanilla ice cream on top. The only problem is that the dough needs to chill for at least 30 minutes before baking.
However, there is no delay when using Congo squares. There won’t be a chance for the dough to spread because it will be contained in a baking pan. In other words, you can bake it straight away after making it! When you have a cookie desire but don’t have the time to make cookies, this recipe is ideal.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of firmly sealed light brown sugar (200g)
- 3/4 cup of sugar (150g)
- 2 large eggs and 1 yolk are best served at room temperature.
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract,
- 24 ounces of all-purpose flour (285g)
- two teaspoons of Corn starch,
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder,
- 1 teaspoon salt
- two cups of semisweet chocolate chips (340g)
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped,
- 1 cup melted butter that has been let cool for at least 5 minutes (226g)
Instructions:
- Grease the pan and preheat the oven: Butter or non-stick spray should be used to oil the baking pan before preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. For added security, you can line the pan with parchment paper. By doing this, you can be sure the bars will pop out of the pan easily.
- Combine the shortening, eggs, and sugar: Brown sugar and shortening should first be thoroughly mixed and beaten together. Add the eggs next. Adding the eggs one at a time and beating the mixture for three minutes after each addition is now the crucial step. Don’t skip this step even though it takes some time because it is the secret step that will make the squares extra luminous.
- Dry ingredients should be sifted: Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate basin. To prevent the batter from being lumpy, sifting is essential. It’s also safer to sift and combine the dry ingredients in a different dish than to simply dump them into the sugar mixture. Overmixing and lumps in the batter are avoided thanks to this step.
- Combine the sugar mixture with the dry ingredients: Just until everything is mixed, begin gently mixing. I advise against using a hand mixer in this recipe since you run the danger of overmixing the batter and producing dry Congo squares. Instead, use a rubber spatula, and stop stirring after you no longer see flour streaks. Finally, carefully stir in the chocolate chunks and walnuts.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the lined or oiled baking pan and bake for exactly 28 minutes. As it cools, the food will continue to cook in the pan, so you want the middle to still be gooey.
- Slice, dish up, and take a bite: For a few minutes, let it cool in the pan. Cut it into squares and serve it as soon as it is cold enough to touch. Enjoy!
What are the Variations in the Flavor of Congo Squares?
There’s always an opportunity for creativity, even though semi-sweet chocolate chips and walnuts are my go-to additions to cookies and bars. Nutty options include macadamia, hazelnuts, pecans, and almonds. For 5-8 minutes, toast them in a 350° oven to enhance their flavors. If you want your Congo squares to be particularly sweet, use dark, milk, or white chocolate chips. Sunflower seeds, crumbled pretzels, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, and other toppings are examples of additional mix-ins and toppings.
This congo bar recipe can be modified in countless ways. Add chocolate chips, pecan halves, and caramel bits to your turtle bars. Pecans, white chocolate chips, and dried cranberries are included in the white chocolate cranberry recipe. Raisin Nut includes walnuts, raisins, and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Sliced almonds, white chocolate, and almond flavor are added. Use all of the last-minute candy and chocolate chip bag scraps you discover in your pantry to make kitchen sink bars.
What’s the Difference between Brownies and Congo Squares?
Blondies are not chocolate, but Brownies are rich, fudgy, and made entirely with chocolate. A blondie is more than simply a cookie bar; it is made from a unique recipe and is rich and fudgy without much chocolate. Cookies that are baked all at once, typically in a pan, and then cut into serving sizes or bars rather than being individually formed and molded are also known as cookie bars or bar cookies. Blondies have that butterscotch flavor, which typically comes from brown sugar.
The caramel-like taste of blondies is perhaps the reason why they are very popular. While brownies have been, and perhaps will always be, more popular than blondies, these vanilla-based bars are a must-try and are really delish if you’ve got a good recipe. Nothing. They resemble a brownie version of a chocolate chip cookie. The name was inspired by Congo Square, a 19th-century neighborhood in New Orleans.
How Long will Congo Squares Persist?
Blondies should be kept in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap to extend their shelf life. Congo squares can be kept at room temperature for two to three days or in the refrigerator for a week when placed in an airtight container. Additionally, you can freeze them to preserve them for longer. Wrap each square twice with aluminum foil and plastic wrap. They won’t have freezer burn as a result of this. Put them in freezer-safe bags, give them appropriate labels, and freeze them.
Congo squares can last up to three months in the freezer. Congo Bars can be kept in the freezer, refrigerator, or at room temperature. Just make sure to cover them firmly so they don’t dry out whether you store them at room temperature or in the refrigerator. They should last for a week or so. If you choose to freeze them, be sure to put them in a tightly sealed freezer-safe baggie. In the freezer, they’ll stay fresh for at least two to three months.
Conclusion
Congo Bars are chocolate chip cookie bar that has been upgraded with two different types of chocolate to make them extremely gooey. They sound quite exotic and might include some strange fruit ingredients that you could only purchase online. Actually, they’re just a chocolate chip cookie bar with an extra special twist.
The butter and sugar are supposed to be melted together on the burner in some recipes but we don’t see why I should dirty a pan and turn on the stove. Put the butter in a bowl that can be used in a microwave and do it there. In the same dish, carry on forming the bars. Nothing new to learn, and it’s as simple as always. With only one bowl and one pan, you can easily prepare these chocolate chip-filled Congo Bars. Before you can blink, the delicious chocolate chip cookie squares will be gone.
